Friday, September 9, 2011

Animal Care & Control Offers Free Rabies Vaccinations Saturday

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Animal Care & Control will
be promoting rabies prevention awareness and education by celebrating
World Rabies Day at its monthly rabies clinic on Saturday, Sept. 10.
Mecklenburg County residents are encouraged to bring their pets to the
shelter (located at 8315 Byrum Drive Charlotte, NC 28217) for a free
rabies shot between the hours of 7:00am and 11:00am.

The line will be cut off at 11:00am, however everyone who is in line
before 11:00am will be served. Please make sure dogs are on leashes
and cats are in carriers. You will need to provide identification to
show you live in Mecklenburg County such as a valid driver's license.

The free vaccinations that are being used at the clinic are made
possible by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control and Pfizer Animal
Health.

Despite being 100% preventable, it is estimated that 55,000 people die
worldwide from rabies each year, approximately one person every ten
minutes. The World Rabies Day initiative is a global rabies awareness
campaign being spearheaded by the UK charity Alliance for Rabies
Control and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"This campaign offers all of us a unique opportunity to increase
global awareness of the most deadly disease known to humans," says Dr.
Deborah Briggs, Executive Director for the Alliance of Rabies Control.
"A major part of this effort is the declaration of an annual World
Rabies Day on September 28th. Events are planned throughout the world
to increase awareness about rabies, and to raise support and funding
towards its prevention and control."

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department's Animal Care & Control will
join the list of international partners who are rallied towards
Working Together to Make Rabies History!

Additional information is available online at http://animals.cmpd.org
and at www.worldrabiesday.org