Trumbull vets conduct rabies clinic

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

BAZETTA TOWNSHIP

The parking lot near the Mosquito Lake Dog Park took on some of the same qualities as the new dog park itself Wednesday afternoon: Dogs of many breeds arrived, checking one another out, their owners happily talking with other dog owners.

But this was not an ordinary day at the dog park. Instead, it was the Trumbull County Veterinary Medical Association’s annual rabies clinic, which took place near the dog park and at 10 other sites around the county.

The clinic, provided in Trumbull County since the 1950s, allowed dog owners to have their dog, cat or ferret vaccinated against the virus for $10, a substantial savings over the normal cost, said Dr. Holly Ray, a veterinarian at Champion Animal Hospital.

VanTara Burney of Cortland said she brought her miniature pinscher, Diva, to be vaccinated because Burney said she loves Diva just like she loves her children.

“I vaccinate my kids, so why wouldn’t I want to vaccinate her?” Burney said.

Diva sleeps and eats with the family, and dogs can spread the virus to humans, Burney said, so a vaccination is a wise step.

“I love her like she’s one of my kids. I want to protect her and the kids both,” she said, adding that the cost has been around $40 when she had Diva vaccinated at a veterinarian’s office in the past.

The dog park, a collaborative effort of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Trumbull County MetroParks Board, Mosquito Lake Dog Park Friends and others, opened last July.

Nearly one year later, members of the friends group say the park has been popular among dog owners and a huge hit for the dogs.

“My dog loves it,” said Mary Landries of Cortland, adding that there have been relatively few problems with the dogs getting along inside the leashless fenced area.

Linda Shira of Warren, vice president of the friends organization, said her dog especially likes to jump into the lake in the area of the park designated for it.

Ray said there were 47 confirmed cases of rabies in Ohio in 2009, with 43 of them being bats (one each in Mahoning and Columbiana counties), three being skunks and one being a raccoon (Columbiana County).

The 43 rabid bats bit or exposed 24 people, 19 cats and 13 dogs to the virus, the Ohio Department of Health said.

The majority of bat rabies cases occurred when a renter or homeowner found a bat in the dwelling and attempted to capture it, the ODH said.

Any type of animal with rabies can give the virus to a human or other mammal by transmitting saliva to an open wound, according to the ODH said. Nationally, an average of three people die from rabies each year.

Ohio officials became alarmed by an increasing number of cases of rabies in raccoons in 1996 that moved into Northeast Ohio from Pennsylvania, resulting in 62 cases in Northeast Ohio in 1997.

Ohio law requires all dogs, cats and ferrets to have a rabies vaccination, Ray said.