Vets battle rabies and raise 4-H funds

By Jake Cantrell of The Dahlonega Nugget on Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Lumpkin County 4-H and VCA Chestatee Animal Hospital are teaming up to stop the spread. Of rabies, that is.

Volunteers from VCA Chestatee Animal Hospital and Lumpkin County 4-H will be hosting a drive-through rabies clinic on Oct. 31 at Lumpkin County Middle School from 12 to 2 p.m. The rabies shots are $10 for each animal, with all of the funds raised going to Lumpkin 4-H.

Chesley Davis, a County Extension Coordinator with Lumpkin 4-H, said that the event is crucial for the program, especially in a year where all other fundraisers had to be canceled due to COVID-19.

“The money that we make from the rabies clinic goes to camp scholarships and our contests that we have,” Davis said. “The good thing is with this partnership, we’ve been able to offer on average about four to five more camps scholarships because of the money brought in. And then our competitions are completely paid for, so we’ve been very fortunate that way.”

As for the vaccinations, VCA Chestatee Animal Hospital Manager Melissa Jordan says that rabies shots are required by law for all pets, so the event is a great opportunity to take care of some yearly maintenance.

“There’s a pretty hefty fine and if your pet bites someone or something, there’s a little bit more that goes along with that,” Jordan said about unvaccinated pets. “You have to quarantine there are costs that accrue with that.”

Outside of the fine for not having a rabies vaccination for each pet, Jordan stressed the importance of having the shots done each year, especially in the North Georgia mountains.

“Rabies is zoonotic, meaning people can get it,” she said. “With as much wildlife as we have here and a huge hiking community, people are always outdoors with their pets, it’s always kind of encouraged around here to have your pets outside, it’s a huge deal to make sure that they are vaccinated for minimum rabies, hopefully, other things too, but minimum rabies because you just never know.”

Davis said that it’s unfortunate that rabies is such a prevalent problem in the area, which makes the community even more fortunate for events like this.

“The sad thing is, in our area, there are a lot of rabies and rabid animals…,” she said. “The good thing is, with VCA...they have been a huge partner with us. We’re the only rabies clinic where all the profit goes to an organization versus the clinic.”

CHANGES AND PRECAUTIONS

This year’s event will look a bit different.

For one, people are being asked to stay in their cars, as the event will be primarily drive-through style to maintain social distancing. Any required forms can be filled out digitally.

“Now people are able to go online and actually fill out all the information on their pets,” Jordan said. “We’re not having to swap pens back and forth while the ladies are helping them fill stuff out and it’s got all the instructions for when they show up, what they need to do as far as how we need to handle their pets and stuff like that. It’s pretty cool, that’s a lot different from what we’ve done in the past.”

Davis said it’s all in an effort to keep everyone safe.

“We’re trying to be as safe as possible,” she said.

The shots are $10 per animal, payable by check or with cash, and masks are required at the event.

Since the event is happening on Halloween, Davis said they’re encouraging everyone to dress up for Halloween as they come to the event for added fun.