Low-cost pet vaccinations will mark World Rabies Day

To commemorate World Rabies Day, an initiative created by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control to raise awareness about the impact of human and animal rabies, Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic is offering $10 rabies vaccinations over two days, Sept. 27 in Fort Collins and Sept. 28 in Loveland.

The walk-in vaccination clinics will be 9 a.m.-3 p.m. each day. The Saturday event will be held at Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic, 2321 E. Mulberry St., Unit 9. Sunday’s Loveland event will be at Hank’s Pet Food Market, 2245 W. Eisenhower Blvd. In addition to the $10 special, rabies vaccines will be discounted to only $5 when purchased with an additional service (excluding nail trims).

Despite rabies being a 100 percent preventable disease, it is 99.9 percent fatal. It is estimated that 69,000 people die worldwide from rabies each year, approximately one person every seven minutes.

“Rabies is a global problem that we can all play a role in defeating,” said Mariah McCulley, clinic manager for Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic. “By standing ‘Together Against Rabies,’ the theme for World Rabies Day 2014, we are not only helping our community, we are helping the world.”

World Rabies Day is a coordinated effort to address rabies prevention and control. “Vaccinating dogs keeps everyone safe, and is a message that needs to be more widely known,” said Professor Louis Nel, chief executive officer for the Global Alliance of Rabies Control. “We can save the lives of tens of thousands of people that die needlessly each year from rabies by raising awareness of the disease and taking the correct preventative measures.”

Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic is promoting prevention of rabies during its two-day weekend event by offering up to 66 percent off its normal rabies vaccination price. The event is a walk-in clinic – no appointment is required – and multiple vaccination stations will be set up to keep any waiting to a minimum. The clinic’s other vaccines and microchipping services will be available at their normal prices.

“Rabies prevention starts with the animal owner,” McCulley advised. “We recommend that people vaccinate dogs, cats and any other animal that has regular contact with humans.”

For more information, contact the clinic by calling (970) 484-1861, or visit the organization’s website, www.FCCRSNC.org. Additional information is available online at www.rabiesalliance.org