Rabies Awareness
Rabies vaccine
Your cat or dog must be vaccinated for rabies as soon as it is 3 months old and must be kept up-to-date for its entire life.
After your pet is vaccinated the first time, they must receive a booster shot within 1 year of the date they were vaccinated. After that, your pet must be vaccinated for rabies every 3 years to stay protected and fulfill legal requirements.
Rabies vaccines used in Canada protect pets from all strains of rabies in North America.
You could be fined if your pet isn’t up-to-date with their Rabies vaccine. Even indoor cats need to be vaccinated.
POLICY STATEMENT
It is the policy of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health that every owner or person having the care and custody of a cat or dog three months of age or over shall ensure that the cat or dog is immunized against rabies according to Ontario Regulation 567/90 – Rabies Immunization.
Rabies Overview
Rabies is a virus that can be transmitted, through saliva, from an infected mammal to any other mammal, including livestock, pets, wildlife
Rabies is fatal. Once signs of rabies appear, the animal or human will die, typically within a few days.
Your pet can get rabies if it:
is bitten by a rabid animal
gets saliva, brain or spinal tissue from an infected animal, dead or alive, in an open cut, sore, wound, eyes, mouth or nose
Even a frozen carcass can contain live rabies virus.
Rabies cases in 2020
In 2020, there were 49 cases of rabies confirmed in Ontario.
Learn more at:https://www.ontario.ca/page/rabies-cases
