Evening star., 1945-08-05
Rabies Clinics
Open Tomorrow
AT 10 Locations
$4,000 Dogs Slated
To Receive Vaccine
By September7

The job of immunizing dogs in
the District under the recent proc
lamation of the Commissioners re-
quiring vaccination by September Z
will get under way tomorrow when
10 public clinics will be opened, most
OF them on school grounds.
There are approximately $4,000
licensed dogs in the District, but
many of these have already been
vaccinated by private veterinarians.
DR.. r. r. Ashworth of the Health
Department, who is in charge Of the
program, said two weeks ago that
5000 dogs had been vaccinated by
private veterinarians and that pos
sibly an equal number have been
vaccinated since then. He said that
perhaps less than $4,000 would be
vaccinated in the public clinics.
Adults Should Bring Dogs.
The public clinics will be open
from 4 to pm. Mondays, Wednes-
days and Fridays. Dogs should be
brought on leash held by an adult,
DR.. Ashworth said. He explained
1t was found in Maryland that when
children brought dogs to be vac
cinased they were not strong enough
to keep the dogs from fighting.
The public clinics in the Northwest
section are: Adams School, Nine
teenth and California streets; Deal
Itlpior Hioh Fort driya a NJ Nahrae
ka avenue; Polk School. Seventh
and P streets; Upshur Street Hos
pital grounds, Fourteenth and Up
shur streets, and Whittier School,
Fifth and Sheridan streets.
Those in the Northeast section
are Burroughs School, Eighteenth
and Monroe streets, and Eliot Junior
High, Eighteenth and B streets.
Public clinics in the Southwest will
be located at the District Pound,
South Capitol and I streets, and
the old Jefferson Junior High, Sixth
and D streets. The Kramer Junior
High at Seventeenth and @ streets
is the only site in the Southeast.
Scch OcOT SctOWn site.
Health officials also hope to add
location in the Georgetown area.
In the event of rain, the clinics will
be held on the following scheduled
day.
After September 7. immunization
work will be done at the Pound from
to 6 pm. Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays. DR.. Daniel L. Seek
niger. acting health officer, has re-
ported the department has enough
vaccine for 10000 dogs and that
enough for 5000 more dogs is ex-
pected.
Dog owners are permitted to take
their dog either to the public clinic
or to private veterinarians. While
there is no fee at the public clinic,
the price Of dog tags was raised last
month under the rabies control bill
from 50 to So to cover the immuni-
cations.
The proclamation. issued late
Thursday. is to continue in effect
until next June 80. Last month the
Commissioners issued a proclama- =
ton ordering the leashing of all
dogs from July % to the end OF next
June.
September 7 Is Deadline.
Requirements of the immuniza-
tion proclamation are as follows:
All dogs, three months or over,
must be vaccinated by September
y, either at a public clinic or by a
private veterinarian. The veteri-
marian must make out a certificate
for the dog owner and furnish a
tag to be affixed to the dogs collar.
Dogs which have been vaccinated
10 months prior to September 7 are
exempt from the proclama ton, but
the owners must secure a certificate
and tag from the veterinarian per-
forming the immunization. Dogs
which become two months of age
must be yaccinated within one
month.
Any dog brought into the District
must be vaccinated within Is days
unless it has been vaccinated within
10 months prior to its arrival in
the city. However, the owner must
secure a certificate and tag from
the veterinarian who performed the
immunization.
Feel Leashing justified.
Even though the public may be
protected against rabies by the i'm
munization, health officials have re-
ported to Commissioner Guy Mason
that they feel leashing is justified
as an added measure of protection
because of the number of biting
cases.
1t was pointed out that there were
1896 dog billings reported in 1914
and 1884 up to July 81 of this year.
During 1943, the Health Department
lists ITO persons bitten by rabid
dogs, l28 bitten last year and 81
up to July 81 of this year. One
person died of rabies in 1943 and
two last year.
The department also lists '102
rabid dogs found so far this year,
compared with 148 last year and
104 in 1943. One official said Friday
was the first day he could remember
Of not receiving dog biting reports