Rabies clinics await JP funding

John Seales Animal Services Center Director Dan Bugg said Thursday he is awaiting Garland County Quorum Court funding to conduct a series of lowcost rabies vaccination clinics throughout the county.

The quorum court’s Public Health, Welfare and Safety

Committee on April 16 approved a motion by Justice of the Peace Mary Bournival, District 4, authorizing Bugg to conduct the rabies clinics. The vaccinations will cost $ 6 per dog or cat.

He has tentatively scheduled the clinics for May 19, June 2 and June 9.

“I’m not going to waste any time. I want to get things done and over with and move forward,” Bugg said.

He said funding for the rabies clinics must be approved by the court’s Finance Committee and then the full quorum court. The Finance Committee will meet May 7. The next regularly scheduled quorum court meeting is May 14.

“It’s got two more steps to go before I even get funding for it,” Bugg said. “I have weekends picked out, I’ve already priced the vaccine, I already have vets in line to do it. I’ve got all my part done, I’m waiting for the red tape to choke me.”

Bugg said funding for the rabies clinics “should be cleared by the second week of May.” He said the proposed clinics “would be dead” had the Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee not passed Bournival’s motion.

“It gets automatically pushed to Finance to identify funding for it and then pushed to the quorum court for a vote,” he said.

Bugg said the veterinarians that administer the vaccines will be paid $ 3 of the $ 6 charge per vaccine.

“That’s half of my cost. I have to pay the vets because they have to sign the vaccination certificates, they’ve got to have their license number. They have to be in the mix, otherwise it’s not legit,” he said.

Bugg said the city of Hot Springs “has already committed to do their side of it and I’m still waiting for the county to say let’s fund it, let’s go.”

He said he wants to conduct the clinics on parking lots at Lake Hamilton, Fountain Lake and Lakeside schools.

“The county says it wants them in the north, south, east and west of the county so I have to come up with a location to the south,” he said.

Bugg said he recently submitted two bats and two dogs to the state health department for rabies testing “and they all came back negative.”

“That’s good news,” he said. “Two rabies vectors came back negative.”