Above: We’re ready for our shots! (Photo posted to flickr by firepile)
The Southborough Board of Health is sponsoring its annual rabies clinic for cats and dogs on Saturday, April 1. (That’s no joke.)
The clinic will be held behind the DPW building at the Transfer Station. Cats will be vaccinated from 2:00 to 3:00 pm, and dogs from 3:00 to 4:00 pm.
Please bring cats in a carrier, and dogs must be kept on a leash. The cost is $15 per animal.
Rabies vaccinations will be administered by Dr. Sharon Westphal and Dr. Joan Ogden from Southborough Veterinary Hospital.
I understand the town is changing the date of the dog and cat licenses to the end of the year. If that is the case, why aren’t they holding either another Rabies clinic in the Fall or moving it to that time frame so it works better for the people in town to get their animal’s Rabies shots and licenses at the same time. When I called the town and spoke with one of the ladies they told me there were no plans for that. It doesn’t make sense to have licenses due at the end of the year and the Rabies clinic in April.
Resident,
Dog licenses do not expire at the end of the year. Dog licenses now expire when the dog’s rabies vaccination expires.
(The Board of Health runs the rabies clinic and they determine when it will run. I do not know if they have any plans to change the date of their program.)
In the past, we have issued a 12-month dog license in March even if the dog’s rabies vaccination expired the following month and that just did not make sense to me. Since we issue dog licenses to ensure we can find the owner if the dog gets loose and to ensure the dog has a valid rabies vaccination, it just seemed to make more sense to make the dog license expire when the rabies expires.
We have also started sending reminders to residents by email 30 days before their rabies expires. That is very important because if you renew your rabies vaccination before the current rabies certificate expires, the new rabies vaccination shot will be valid for 3 years. If you wait to get the rabies renewed even just one day after the rabies vaccination, the same rabies shot is only good for 1 year!
In addition, if you have a 3-year rabies vaccination, you have the option to buy a 3-year dog license for $30 instead of a 1-year license for $12.
Finally, we now issue a single dog license tag that the dog keeps for its whole life. Residents suggested this and it made sense to me so we implemented this improvement too. We don’t get a new car license plate each year so why should we waste money on a new dog license tag each year?
Last week, we mailed letters to all dog owners in Town explaining these changes.
We made these changes to make this process much easier and more efficient for everyone and so far, the response from residents has been overwhelmingly positive.
If you have any questions, feel free to call me at (508) 485-0710 x 3007 or stop by the Town House and I’ll be glad to answer any questions.
Jim Hegarty
Southborough Town Clerk
jhegarty@southboroughma.com
(508) 485-0710 x 3007