About County Pets Rabies Control

Rabies is a preventable disease that is almost universally fatal once symptoms appear.  Because animals can transmit the disease to other animals and to humans, individual counties set up vaccination requirements, bite policies and animal control strategies aimed at preventing the spread of this dangerous virus.

Vaccination Requirements

The most important rabies control measure in pet animals is vaccination.  The rabies vaccine is extremely effective when used correctly, and rabies infection in properly vaccinated animals is extremely unlikely.  Most counties require vaccination of pet dogs, cats, and domesticated ferrets over 16-26 weeks of age.  Many localities, however, differ on the type and frequency of vaccination that they will accept.  Some municipalities allow for vaccination every three years with an appropriately labeled product, while other jurisdictions require yearly vaccination.   In most cases, your pet is only considered legally vaccinated against rabies when a licensed veterinarian administers or supervises the vaccination and signs a rabies certificate.

Animal Control

In addition to regulating the vaccination of pet animals, local animal control policies also help control rabies.  By keeping stray animals with unknown vaccination histories away from residents and their pets, communities can prevent some instances of rabies transmission.  County animal shelters quarantine or euthanize animals suspected of carrying rabies and vaccinate healthy strays to prevent the spread of the disease.

Bite Policies

Most counties have policies in place to control the spread of rabies in cases where a pet animal bites a person or another pet.  In most cases, any animal that bites a person will have to be quarantined for 10 days of observation.  If the animal exhibits signs consistent with rabies during quarantine, it needs to be humanely euthanized and tested for rabies.  Animals that die in quarantine also need to be tested.  This 10 day quarantine does not apply to pet animals who are bitten by other animals or otherwise exposed to rabies.  Many jurisdictions require any unvaccinated animal with a suspicious bite wound to be either euthanized or undergo a six month long mandatory quarantine period at the owner's expense.