MOBILE, Ala. — The Mobile County Health Department provides low-cost rabies shots for dogs, cats, and ferrets that are good for one year during weekend clinics. Here is a list of the rabies clinics planned during Saturdays in July across Mobile County:

• July 6, 10 a.m. to noon, City of Mobile Animal Shelter, 855 Owens Street in Mobile

• July 13, 10 a.m. to noon, Mobile County Animal Shelter, 7665 Howells Ferry Road in Mobile

• July 13, 1 to 3 p.m., Pet Supplies Plus, 803 Hillcrest Road in Mobile

• July 20, 10 a.m. to noon, Kuddles-N-Kisses Connection, 13268 Wintzell Avenue in Bayou La Batre

• July 27, 1 to 3 p.m., B&B Pet Stop, 5035 Cottage Hill Road in Mobile

These events will be drive-through clinics. The cost of the rabies vaccine per pet is $12. All rabies shots are payable in cash.

Each month, MCHD’s Rabies Officer provides residents with low-cost vaccines for their pet dogs, cats, and ferrets at a variety of locations. The state of Alabama tasks local health departments with providing affordable rabies vaccinations to pet owners. MCHD’s Rabies Officer provided 198 vaccinations (165 dogs and 33 cats) during June.

Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system. It is transmitted from infected mammals to humans and is fatal once symptoms appear. Symptoms of rabies include unusual behavior, irritability, headache, fever, inability to eat or drink, balance problems, circling, seizures, coma, and, finally, death. All warm-blooded mammals, including humans, are susceptible to rabies.

MCHD’s Rabies Officer vaccinated 2,004 household pets (1,600 dogs and 404 cats) in 2023. To learn more about our program, visit https://mchd.org/disease-control/#rabies.

A Rabies Quarantine Fact Sheet is available through the Alabama Department of Public Health at https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/infectiousdiseases/assets/rabiesquarantinefactsheet.pdf.