MEDIA RELEASE:
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit
June 30, 2023

For many years, the Health Unit has partnered with our local veterinarians and municipalities to facilitate low-cost rabies vaccination clinics in communities across Leeds, Grenville and Lanark. The past few years have been challenging for our local veterinarians and we have seen a significant decrease in the number of veterinarians with the capacity to participate in a coordinated approach to these low cost rabies vaccination clinics. We have also seen a decline in the number of pet owners accessing our low-cost clinics. Therefore, the Health Unit has made the difficult decision to pause the coordination of low-cost rabies vaccination clinics for this fall.

Local veterinary services may still be able to provide their own, independent low-cost clinics.  The Health Unit will promote any planned rabies vaccinations clinics on our social media accounts and website, so please check the website often. “On behalf of the Health Unit, I would like to extend our gratitude to our municipalities and our local veterinary services for assisting and supporting the coordination of these clinics over the years,” said Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Linna Li.

Vaccination against rabies protects our furry companions who add so much to our lives. It is also required by law for owners of cats, dogs and some other domestic animals to vaccinate them against rabies. Keeping your pet’s vaccination up to date is an important tool to reduce the risk of rabies transmission in our communities. Each year the Health Unit responds to hundreds of animal bites. Along with the pain and possible emotional and physical scarring caused by a bite is the risk of exposure to rabies.

You can protect yourself and your family from animal bites by staying away from unknown or wild animals. If you or any member of your family has been bitten, scratched or in contact with a potentially rabid animal, seek medical attention from your health care provider, or go to your local hospital emergency department immediately. The Health Unit follows up on all reports of bites. If you are the owner of a pet involved in a biting incident, regain control over your pet, provide assistance to the person bitten and provide your contact information to the person so the Health Unit can reach out to you to conduct a risk assessment.

For more information on rabies, visit our Rabies page. For rabies or animal bites-related questions call 1-800-660-5853 or 613-345-5685. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter @LGLHealthUnit or Instagram @lglhealthunit.z for important public health updates.

Contact

For media interviews, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.