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Pima Animal Care Center urges rabies vaccinations

More chance your pet will contact wild animals
Coati and Kylie.jpeg
Posted at 4:04 PM, Mar 11, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-12 07:48:42-05

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Spring weather is making wild animals more active, and more likely to tangle with your pet. The Pima County Animal Care Center says that makes it even more important to make sure your pet has a Rabies vaccination.

Recently, when a Coati Mundi walked into a yard two dogs ran up to investigate.

Nikki Reck of Pima County Animal Care Center says, “And there was some sort of scuffle involving the two dogs and the Monday, one dog had a rabies vaccination so that dog is actually doing the quarantine at home, but the other dog did not have a rabies vaccination so that dogs going to have to spend the 120 days here at the shelter so that's four months of this dog's life.”

Beautiful weather can make you, your pet, and wild animals more active so there’s more chance right now for your animal to make contact with a wild animal.

That contact can lead to a long quarantine to make sure your pet did not get infected with rabies.

What Nikki Reck of Pima Animal Care Center said bears repeating: If your animal had a rabies vaccination, contact with a wild animal means 45 days quarantine at home.

If your pet has never had a rabies shot, that means four months in quarantine at the shelter.

She says, “I think the big thing is to just be aware of your pet, make sure that they're not anywhere where you can't see them and maybe if they're in the backyard especially this time of year. Just keep an eye on and be out there with them you know if they're using if they're playing, play with them. And keep those vaccines up to date.”

You can findlow cost rabies vaccinations at this link.