Legazpi’s anti-rabies vaccination rate up

LEGAZPI CITY --- The Legazpi City Veterinary Office (CVO) has posted a 90% a vaccination rate or 21,056 vaccinated dogs out of 23, 236 registered dogs in the city’s 70 villages.

“The city’s anti-rabies vaccination or the High-Density Vaccination (HDV) is an annual activity of the CVO that seeks to maintain the status of Legazpi as zero-rabies territory,” CVO chief Emmanuel Estipona said.

Estipona said he will ask all village officials including the Barangay Health Workers (BHW) to remind their constituents to have their dogs vaccinated at the age of three months and to seek regular consultation on the health condition of their pets.

He noted the important role of barangay leaders to eradicate dog bites by conducting information drive for their villagers to become responsible pet owners.

Estipona further encouraged pet owners to put up their own animal pound at their own backyard to make sure their pets will not go astray in public places and prevent dog bite incidents.

The CVO has also intensified the city’s stray dog elimination program by capturing stray dogs roaming in different villages and other public places to prevent widespread circulation of rabies virus in the community and motor vehicular accidents in public roads.

The CVO has recorded 1,151 captured stray dogs from January until mid of November.

The stray dogs elimination program was enacted through the city’s Anti-Rabies Ordinance in support to the Rabies and Control Program of the national government.

Based on the ordinance, all dogs and cats must be registered at their respective barangay halls for the CVO to issue a registration certificate to the pet owners. They are also required to have their pets vaccinated.

All pet owners who violate this ordinance will be fined a fine of Php1,000 or get imprisoned for five to ten days at the discretion of the court in the first offense while on the 2nd and 3rd offense, the violators will have to pay PHP2,000 and/or imprisoned for 15 to 20 days at the discretion of the court and the violators will have to pay PHP3,000 and/or imprisonment of 25 to 30 days or both at the discretion of the court, respectivley. (SAA/EAS-PIA5/Albay)

Pet owners in Legazpi City are reminded to have their dogs vaccinated at the age of three months and to seek regular consultation on the health condition of their pets.