Happy New Year everyone! It’s been a great start to the New Year here at Animal Control! We hope everyone out there had a safe and happy holiday season. A special thanks to all who adopted a new family member this past year. Please remember that while saving the life of just one animal may not change the world, it will most certainly change the world……for that one animal.
I guess I should recap what animal control was able to accomplish during 2011. It was a busy year as always. We seemed to notice the burden of our economic situation, and rising cost impacting pet ownership, more so this year than in previous ones. In 2011, we handled 2039 animals here at the animal shelter. This was a fairly even mix of both cats and dogs. Out of those numbers, which were lost, unwanted, or just wayward pets, we were able to adopt out 493 animals. This includes animals we were able to get out to rescue organizations.
We continued to see a lot of pet owners failing to vaccinate their pets against rabies. This is not only required by NC state law and Chatham County ordinance, it is vital to your pets’ and your family’s safety. Last year we impounded 26 wild animals, including bats, foxes, raccoons and bobcats for rabies suspects. Of those sent for testing we had eleven cases of positive rabies here in Chatham County. As you can see, rabies is distributed throughout the county and is here to stay. That being said, it is preventable by making sure your animals over the age of 14 weeks get their rabies shots!
Now I know you are saying, “Man, I just can’t afford to take my animals to the vet, as I am barely making ends meet.” Well, the good news is, Chatham County has teamed up with local veterinarians to put on quarterly low cost Rabies Clinics available to everyone, all over the county. Hopefully you can find a location near you! The following is the schedule and locations for our first clinic in February! Don’t miss this chance to not only save some money, by utilizing these low cost rabies clinics, but save the life of your furry family member and protect the health of our residents.
Upcoming Rabies Clinics
WHEN: February 18th, 2012
WHERE: Chatham County Animal Control
725 County Landfill Rd.
Pittsboro, NC 27312
TIME: 9:00 A.M. – 12 Noon
COST: $5.00 per animal
All animals must either be on leash or in a carrier.
For more information, call Animal Control at 919-542-7203.
The following veterinary clinics will be participating on these dates:
Pittsboro:
- Hope Crossing Animal Hospital – February 18-25, phone: 542-1975
- Jordan Lake Animal Hospital – February 20-25, phone: 542-5424
- Hill Creek Veterinary Hospital – February 20-24, phone: 542-1141 (M-TH 5-6 PM & F 4-5 PM)
- Pittsboro Animal Hospital – February 22nd, phone: 542-5712 (Walk-in only from 12 -3 PM.)
Siler City:
- Tysor Veterinary Clinic – February 20-25, phone: 742-3646
- Third Street Vet Clinic – February 13-17, phone: 742-4909 (M,T,TH,F 2-6 PM & W 4-7 PM – By appointment only.)
- Chatham Veterinary Services – February 6-10, phone: 742-4441
