Last Thursday, on March 24, Rescue Ranch joined other Siskiyou animal lovers and community donors at a successful dog vaccination event in Shasta Vista. Dr. Amy Fousek, of Siskiyou Veterinary Services, administered the low-cost rabies shots, while Siskiyou County Animal Control officers processed dog licenses. Marjorie King of Juniper Flat Fire Safe Council shared information about fire safety. Rescue Ranch staff promoted our spay neuter program, RRAAP.
The event started at 1 p.m. at the Ray Jones Fire Station. Organizers set up tables and waited for community members to arrive. They didn’t wait long. Soon cars and trucks began arriving with dogs of all sizes and breeds. At one point, though, the event seemed to be winding down and attendance had slowed to a trickle. Then, just as organizers were about to pack up for the day, a large number of vehicles suddenly turned up and vaccinations began again in earnest.
At the end of the day, Dr. Fousek administered 83 rabies vaccines! All of those shots resulted in about 65 dog licensed on site by Animal Control, and several more later at their offices. Parvo/distemper vaccines were also available. RRAAP manager Cheryl Webber got 16 people to sign up to get their dogs spay/neutered, which was great. Rescue Ranch staff also encouraged owners to microchip their dogs . They even administered chips to seven dogs on the spot.
Please vaccinate your dog
Rabies vaccinations are not only a legal requirement, they’re the responsible thing to do. Rescue Ranch offers additional, highly effective, vaccines at low-cost.Bordetella protects against kennel cough, which is very contagious and can be serious for dogs with compromised or underdevelopped immune systems. Canine parvovirus and distemper vaccines are usually combined in a single shot with several others.
Immunizing your dog against parvovirus and distemper is critical. At Rescue Ranch, we’re only too familiar with the heartbreak that comes with treating infected dogs. Puppies too young to be vaccinated are extremely susceptible to any exposure, but adult dogs also die. We treated an adult for parvo this past winter. She pulled through, barely. More recently, we lost a five-month old puppy who arrived sick and died overnight. There was nothing we could do.
Distemper spreads mainly through the air: when a dog coughs, for example. It doesn’t survive for long on its own, but dogs can continue to shed virus for three or four months, or more.
Canine parvovirus is not airborne. It’s transmitted through direct contact between dogs or indirect contact with feces or a contaminated object. Unlike distemper, parvovirus can live in the environment for up to nine years!
Given the severity of both diseases and how easily they are transmitted, vaccination is the best way to protect all dogs. Call your local rescue or animal control to ask about a low-cost dog vaccination event near you.
