Bainbridge PD to host animal clinic Saturday

BAINBRIDGE -- Dog and cat owners will have the chance to keep their animals safe and healthy during a Saturday event in Bainbridge.

From 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, July 11, the Bainbridge Police Department will host an animal clinic featuring dog and cat vaccines as well as microchipping by the Humane Society of Putnam County.

The event will take place in the shelter house behind the Bainbridge Community Center.

The New Winchester Animal Clinic will perform small animal vaccinations, including DHLPP, rabies 1-year, rabies 3-year, bordetella and lime disease annual for dogs, as well as feline FVRCP 3-way and leukemia annual.

Clinic representatives will also perform rabies tests.

Fees for these services will be posted.

The low-cost microchip clinic is for dogs owned by Putnam County residents. The cost is $10 per dog, payable by cash or check. There is no limit on the number of dogs per family that may be microchipped ,but the HSPC asks that residents only bring as many dogs as they can handle.

Dog owners should bring proof of their dog's rabies vaccination. Proof can be a current rabies tag or if the dog has a three year vaccination, a veterinarian's form indicating that the dog is current on its rabies shots will be necessary. All dogs should be on a non-retractable leash.

Reuniting lost or stolen pets with their owners is a high priority for the Humane Society. A microchip is the size of a grain of rice and is implanted between the dog's shoulder blades. The microchip is encoded with a one-of-a-kind number which will be registered with 24HourPetWatch's national database.

Once a lost pet arrives at an animal shelter or veterinary clinic, a handheld scanner is used to identify the unique number on the implanted microchip and the owner is identified and contacted. The implantation takes only a few seconds and is relatively painless to the dog.

A microchip is not a tracking device or a GPS transmitting device. Animals with microchips cannot be tracked or monitored from a remote location. F

or more information on the importance of microchipping or to pre-register for this event, visit the Humane Society of Putnam County's website, www.hspcanimals.org.

In addition to these services, pet owners can also chat with representatives of the Putnam County Humae Shelter, which should be opening soon, and Bainbridge Town Marshal Rodney Fenwick and his department.