Rabies Vaccination and Microchip Clinics – Why You Need Them in Your Community

Many of you know that I am part of a small volunteer group in Chelsea, Massachusetts that, with the help of fundraising and a local foundation, is committed to making life better for cats and dogs in the community. The group, HubCats Chelsea, offers free spay/neuter services for owned, stray and feral cats, and low-cost spay/neuter for dogs. In addition to funding these services, we support one rabies vaccination and microchipping clinic a year in partnership with the MSPCA. This year’s clinic was held a couple of weekends ago. Over 300 cats and dogs came and 64 cats were scheduled during the clinic for spay/neuter surgery later, along with 30 or so dogs.

If you aren’t doing a program like this, please think about trying a clinic. Community clinics like these are where you may find out about a potential hoarding situation and be able to reach out and prevent it from getting worse. They are a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of your community. If you need more guidance on how to plan a clinic, check out this CCP blog post on clinic best practices.

As our programs change over time, it is so much more important to engage in your community. Doing these types of clinics is the best way to get to know and become aware of the needs of the community. To pull off a clinic like this, you need a collaborative effort. Many groups and organizations pull together to make this happen. In our case, the MPSCA is the lead, HubCats is in charge of outreach and funding, and the city of Chelsea (the animal control officer) is there to represent the support that they have for this program and help educate folks on other programs available to help Chelsea residents when they need assistance.

Here is a partial quote from one of the people who attended the clinic: “I thought you guys had an amazing team and an amazing service. I’m beyond grateful for the vaccine [for] my puppy … I just wanted you to know that I’m personally grateful that you came to Chelsea.”

Please start planning your clinic today!