Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 10. Our popular “Paws for the Cause Walk” will take place rain or shine (hopefully shine). Registration will start at 9:30 with the walk starting at 10 a.m. There will be prizes, refreshments and a special treat for your pet as well. We will also have rabies clinic from 11 to 12 with a fee of $10.
My two very spoiled and lazy kitties spend most of their days lounging around inside my house and there is little concern when it comes to rabies. But for those of you who have pets that venture outside, especially in the more rural areas, then the possibility of being bitten by a diseased animal increases.
Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals, but 50,000 people die from rabies worldwide each year. The virus is spread when infected animals bite or scratch a person or another animal. The virus can also be spread if saliva or tissue from the brain or spinal cord of a rabid animal touches broken skin or gets into the mouth, nose or eyes of a person or another animal.
All mammals are susceptible to rabies, but a few wildlife species are important reservoirs for the disease, including raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes.
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“While wildlife are more likely to be rabid than are domestic animals in the United States, domestic animals can be infected when they are bitten by wild animals,” said Dr. Stephen Sears, state epidemiologist.
Pet owners can take these important steps to protect their pets from rabies: Keep rabies vaccinations up to date for all dogs, cats and ferrets; keep your pet on your property and under direct supervision when outdoors; call animal control to remove stray animals from your neighborhood since these animals may be unvaccinated or ill; and, if your pet is bitten or scratched by another animal, call your veterinarian to find out if it needs medical attention, and report all animal bites to the town in which the bite occurred.
The early signs of rabies typically include behavioral changes—the animal may appear anxious, aggressive or more friendly than normal. As the disease progresses, animals develop hypersensitivity to light and sound. They may also experience seizures and/or become extremely vicious. The final stage of rabies is, sadly, paralysis and eventually respiratory failure.
So it is very important to do your part in keeping your beloved pet (and yourself) safe. Rabies in humans is preventable through prompt appropriate medical care. If you or someone you know is bitten or scratched by an animal, wash the wound right away with soap and water. Contact your healthcare provider to find out if you need to be treated for a rabies exposure. Medical care can generally be delayed if the biting animal can be confined for 10 days, if domestic, or tested for rabies, if wild.
Check Maine’s World Rabies Day website for more detail at www.mainepublichealth.gov/rabies.
Be sure to stop by our rabies clinic on June 10 at 11 a.m. to vaccinate your pet.
Please be responsible: spay and neuter your pets.
Gloria J. Towle is the secretary and a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Aroostook Humane Society.
