Pet vaccination clinic held at Nome Animal House
Nome Animal House held the annual vaccination clinic December 49 providing vaccinations, de-worming and city pet licenses to animals of Nome.
The clinic offered vaccinations at a reduced rate: $72 for fixed dogs, $87 for non-fixed dogs and $55 for cats.
For dogs, the package includes core vaccines, rabies and the fiveway/parvo/distemper vaccine. It also covers non-core vaccines, for Bordetella and a de-wormer. The city pet license is also included in the fee.
Cats get the rabies vaccine, an FVRCP vaccine, de-wormer and the city pet license.
The vaccine clinic has been a staple of Nome pet care for many years, starting with Dr. Leedy providing the service and then transitioning to the Nome Animal House in 2016. In the past few years the clinic has begun sending out reminder cards for when it’s time to revaccinate, which has helped people keep up, owner Sandra Rowe said.
“It used to be this was the only time we offered vaccines, and now because we’re staffed to where we can do it year-round, it’s been a lower turnout this year,” said Rowe.
The clinic is a great time for pet owners to ask questions about any concerns they may have about their animal’s health. Veterinarian Dr. Gil Van Sciver is scheduled to travel to the Nome Animal House this week, so anything the vet techs identify during the clinic can be treated by him right away. Dr. Van Sciver typically travels to Nome every six weeks. When he’s not in town, a telehealth option is available where he prescribes, and the vet techs administer care.
Yearly vaccinations make for a healthier population, said Nome Animal House Vet Tech Ashley Vaughn, but it’s important to be consistent. Especially with the rabies vaccine and the five-way that protect animals from things like parvovirus which can live in the ground for up to seven years. “Anytime it rains or anytime a dog digs, they can reinfect even if they aren’t around another dog with parvo,” Vaughn said.
Rabies is enzootic in Alaska foxes, consistently present in populations for years. The lay vaccinators program in Alaska allows for certified, non-veterinarians to administer the rabies vaccine to pets, which is free at the Nome Animal House.
“It’s so important that people know they can just call us and we will do a free rabies vaccine,” Vaughn said. “I’ve worked in a lot of other vet clinics, a lot of different places and no one offers free rabies vaccines, even though they’re required. So, it’s a really cool perk of the state of Alaska.”
The rabies vaccine can be administered to puppies at 12 weeks of age, for other vaccines they can start as early as six weeks.