City hosting annual rabies vaccine clinics for cats and dogs
By Kyle Schmidt
Community members will have several chances to get their pets vaccinated against rabies and registered this month.
St. Joseph Animal Control and Rescue is teaming up with the Friends of the Animal Shelter to provide five rabies vaccination clinics at various locations.
“It’s the opportunity for people to get everything done at once,” said Stephen Norman with animal control. “Last year, the numbers were down a little bit, but usually each year we do anywhere from 850 to 1200 people.”
Norman has been with animal control for 22 years and said this is a long-standing event for the organization.
The dates and locations for the clinics are:
- Monday, May 6 at Lindbergh Elementary School, 2812 St. Joseph Ave.
- Tuesday, May 7 at Hosea Elementary School, 6401 Gordon St.
- Thursday, May 9 at First Church of the Nazarene, 2102 South 22nd St.
- Tuesday, May 14 at Skaith Elementary School, 4701 Schoolside Lane
- Thursday, May 16 at Mark Twain Elementary School, 801 South 31st St.
All sites will be open from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The city requires all dogs and cats above the age of 3 months to be vaccinated and registered.
It is $5 each per animal for the vaccination and registration ($15 total for unaltered animals).
Other services include a $10 microchip, a $5 dog park tag and a $10 nail trim.
Depending on the weather, lines at the clinics can get long.
“The first clinic is usually pretty busy, so upwards of 200 people,” Norman said. “If it’s calling for rain or possibly, like, drizzling stuff during the clinic, that our numbers are usually a little bit lower.”
Norman said the event should run smoothly, as the staff is well-trained in handling animals.
“So most of it is animal control staff, the Friends of the Animal Shelter. We fill out the registration forms for the city tags. The volunteers collect all that stuff while people are waiting in line,” Norman said. “Then the veterinarian gives the vaccinations, and they go to the pay table, and then they leave.”
