BELLE FOURCHE—The Belle Fourche Veterinary Clinic and the City of Belle Fourche teamed up to offer low-cost rabies shots for cats and dogs in the area on Saturday, May 2. The event didn’t start until 8 a.m., but excited animals and their owners began lining up at 6:30 a.m. to make sure they got in on the low-cost rabies shot. The city was also offering dog licenses for free during the event.
In addition to Belle Fourche residents, people traveled from Rapid City, Spearfish, Sturgis, Black Hawk, Deadwood, Lead, Hot Springs and even Sundance, Wyoming, to take advantage of the $10 per pet charge for each rabies shot.
The charge for the shot is as low as possible for the occasion. “The amount changed a little bit just because they’re doing a donation to Hobo’s Healing Heart,” explained Animal Control Officer Clint Haffner. “It covers the cost of the actual vaccine. I think the vaccine number was $8 for the vaccine, and I think $2 for the donation. The vet clinic actually makes nothing.”
The Belle Fourche Vet Clinic had two stations set up inside the clinic, with a vet positioned at each one. Each vet also had a tech helping them to hold the animals. The long lines moved fairly fast. “It is a community service. It just gets some of these pets in here that maybe wouldn’t get the shot otherwise. It just increases the safety for the public,” shared Dr. William Marlatt. “The shot does two things: it protects the pet from the virus itself, but it also protects the public. Rabies is not a curable disease. It is 99.9% fatal.”
Since Belle Fourche is in an area with wildlife, there will always be a chance for rabies to spread. “It is not going away as long as we have wildlife out there, but then you’ll have vaccinated animals,” explained Dr. Marlatt. “You decrease the opportunity for it to spread to domestic animals.”
If you happen to have a pet that doesn’t have a rabies shot and it bites someone, the expenses could be costly. “Typically, what would happen is, first we will call to find out if it does have an up-to-date rabies shot. If it doesn’t, then the dog’s going to have to go through a quarantine process of 10 days and be examined at the beginning of that by a veterinarian for normal health signs and symptoms, and then compare it to the end at 10 days,” said Haffner. “If there’s an injury where somebody’s been bit and they’ve got to go to the ER, then the person that owns the dog is responsible. They’re responsible for all the vet fees, the doctor’s visit fees and the ER visit fees. So typically, that can run in the range of $3,000 to $5,000.”
Keeping your pets vaccinated against rabies is a must-do for pet owners that love their animals. “The rabies vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines we have for anything in the world,” said Dr. Marlatt. “It’s really well studied, it’s extremely well functional and an extremely good vaccine.”
The event could not be put on without all of the volunteers who come together to help out. “It is all the volunteers—this wouldn’t be possible without them. There are some of the volunteers that are inside and some working outside, and honestly, they are what makes this happen,” said Haffner. “Everybody has a different little role. People are taking their free time and giving it to us.”
Volunteers this year include Clint Haffner, Animal Control Officer; Patty Eszlinger, Who Let the Dogs Out; Shannon Stores, daycare provider; Angie Vissia, Head Start; Chuck Lawless, VFW; Nikki Hoyme, United Way and Monument Health; Kasten Pedersen, United Way; and Andrea Pedersen, Monument Health and United Way.
If you have any animal issues or concerns, please remember to call through dispatch at 605-892-2737.
Read the full issue of the Belle Fourche Beacon by clicking here.
