Animal control officers and veterinarians in Jackson and Southern Hall counties are urging people to make sure their pets’ rabies vaccinations are up to date after authorities confirmed that a rabid cow had attacked its owner and rabid bobcat had attacked two dogs.

“Our pets are a buffer between people and wildlife, and if people get their pets vaccinated that helps protect people,” said Dr. Kinsey Phillips, owner of Commerce Veterinary Hospital.

On Jan. 20 a Gillsville man had to shoot a bobcat that went after his dogs in his yard near the Jackson-Hall county line. A week earlier, a Maysville farmer was attacked by one of his cows, and the animal later was determined to be rabid.

Experts are calling both cases unusual but are not ready to say what the early and odd rabies cases mean for summer in Northeast Georgia, when reports of rabies seem to increase.

There were 66 confirmed cases of rabies in animals in 2011 in the 10-county region served by the Northeast Georgia Health District. There were 17 confirmed cases in Hall County in 2011, which is served by a different health district, according to news release issued last month.

The bobcat was the first animal in Hall County to be diagnosed with rabies this year, and it is the first time animal control officers there have seen a case of rabies in a bobcat.

“Generally, we deal with skunks, foxes and raccoons,” said David Jones of the Hall County Animal Control Department. “We’re hoping that this will be an isolated incident, but only time will tell.”

Jones surmised that the bobcat had probably gotten into a scuffle with a skunk, fox or raccoon and became infected with the disease.

It is very rare to see rabies in a cow, Phillips said.

The Maysville farmer who called Phillips’ office had told the large animal vet working on the case that the cow knocked him down and attacked him. Both the veterinarian and the farmer had rabies shots after coming into contact with the animal, Phillips said.

“Farmers don’t generally vaccinate cows,” Phillips said. “It’s usually your carnivorous animals that get vaccinated because usually when your herbivores like cows and goats get exposed or get infected — they generally don’t expose people. It’s unusual that a person would get exposed from a cow.”

To be safe, pet owners should make sure their animals are vaccinated and stay way from any animal that is acting strangely. While some animals — like foxes, skunks and coyotes — act aggressively when they are infected, others, like raccoons just seem disoriented

A rabies alert has been issued for the Julian Baugh Road area of North Hall after a rabid skunk came in contact with a dog.  Animal owners are encouraged to vaccinate their pets and livestock for rabies.

Vaccines are available for $10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at the Hall County Animal Shelter at 1688 Barber Road in Gainesville and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia at 845 W. Ridge Road in Gainesville.

The skunk was shipped to the Georgia Public Health Lab, Virology Section in Decatur and confirmed positive for rabies on Monday. This is the 15th confirmed case of 2011.

Alert signs have been posted in the area where the rabid skunk was found. If you live in this area or you see an animal acting abnormally, contact Hall County Animal Services at 770-531-6830 or during non-working hours call Hall County Dispatch at 770-536-8812.

Animal owners are encouraged to vaccinate their pets and livestock for rabies.

Vaccines are available for $10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at the Hall County Animal Shelter at 1688 Barber Road in Gainesville and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia at 845 W. Ridge Road in Gainesville.

Stories, essays, poetry, drawings, photographs, and recipes from animal lovers of all ages are being solicited.  All entries will be reviewed by a PAWS panel of editors.  Selected entries will be edited as needed and published in the book. The name of each author will be published.  At the author’s discretion, their age, business, school and a dedication may also be published.

Go to pawsdahlonega.com for rules and entry forms.

Submissions are needed right away!  Send to pawsdahlonegaofga@gmail.com or mail to PAWS, P.O. Box 1955, Dahlonega, GA 30533.

GOURMET DINNER & ENTERTAINMENT on Friday, October 21 at Three Sisters WineryPANCAKE  BREAKFAST

Le Petit Café located at 259 Church Street will sponsor a pancake breakfast for PAWS on Saturday, October 8.  Adoptable shelter cats and dogs may be seen there.

GOURMET DINNER & ENTERTAINMENT

PAWS  honors  Dan Bowers with a Gourmet Dinner provided by Le Petit Café & the PAWS ladies at THREE SISTERS WINERY on Friday, October 21, 2011 beginning at 6:00 PM.   Fabulous door prizes and entertainment.  Tickets may be purchased from PAWS members for $30/person.

The Atlanta Humane Society spay/neuter mobile unit will be at the Lumpkin County Animal Shelter on Wednesday and Thursday, September 28 and 29.  If you know anyone who has a dog or cat that has not been altered, please tell them about this opportunity.

The efforts of PAWS and TLC to create a North Georgia Spay/Neuter mobile unit ended when we learned that Atlanta Humane was developing a mobile unit that could serve our area.  Atlanta Humane already has funding sources to accomplish this goal and by serving rural areas, they will be immediately eligible for additional funds from grants.

My only concern is that we must get the word out to everyone who could take advantage of the service.  If Lumpkin residents fail to take advantage of this clinic, Atlanta Humane can be expected to go elsewhere.

Atlanta Humane’s original proposal was for them to place ads in The Dahlonega Nugget providing contact information for appointments made directly with them.  Now that the county has taken responsibility for appointments and scheduling, we must all do everything we can to make certain that local residents know about the program.

Appointments must be made in person at the shelter prior to the clinic dates.  Availability will be “first come, first served.”  The shelter number is 706-867-7297.

This is the first in what will be a series of posts about PAWS and the Lumpkin County Animal Shelter.  The shelter belongs to residents of our county.  We pay the bills and we are responsible for what goes on there.  Good things are happening.  You will soon hear  about more options becoming available for low cost spay/neuter.  You will be asked for your suggestions on how to get the message out about pet over-population and improvements to our county shelter.

Difficult economic times are being felt at the Lumpkin County Animal Shelter.  Families losing their homes and folks losing their jobs is not good for the family pet.  A lot of animals are finding themselves on the street or turned in to the shelter.

Our county and the shelter staff are doing the best they can in an impossible situation.

As the president of PAWS, I am not pleased with the situation.  Shelter staff cannot begin to do the job as it needs to be done because too many animals pass through.

About half the animals that come in are brought in by Animal Control.  The rest are brought in by owners or someone who finds an animal and turns it in to the shelter.

Those brought in by Animal Control are held for five days before coming under control of the Shelter unless they are in such bad shape that they are euthanized.  Found animals are also held for five days during which time attempts are made to locate the owners.  After five days, these animals become available for adoption, transfer to rescue groups, or euthanization.

Owner surrenders become available for all options as soon as a release is obtained.  If there is no space for the animal, it can be euthanized immediately.

Let’s be very clear, the desirable outcome for all animals is a loving home.  Reality is there are no homes available for many of these great animals.  When PAWS takes animals to off-site adoptions, we find that most local residents already have as many pets as they can afford.  We work with shelter management to arrange as many transfers to rescue groups as we can …but there are never enough.  Many healthy, adoptable pets are euthanized because there is no space to hold them.  During July, adoptions and transfers were down.  A dog that had been in the shelter for just two weeks could be on the list for euthanization to make room for those being brought in.

I have been blunt in stating to management that twice as many animals are going through the shelter as they are capable of properly handling.  Two weeks is not nearly long enough to hold a lost pet or for new owners to be found.

The response to my concerns has been a proposal to charge a $25 fee for anyone bringing in an animal or animals.  Although I personally support the fee, many are concerned that people will just dump the animals instead of bringing them to the shelter.

One way or another, this community must get the message out that it is unacceptable to allow pets to run loose, especially when they have not been spayed or neutered.

I don’t know about you, but I consider it morally reprehensible to allow puppies and kittens to be born just to be killed.  I cannot believe that the people of this county want their children to grow up accepting such cruelty.

PAWS  www.pawsdahlonega.com and the Lumpkin County Animal Shelter already offer help for those who cannot afford to have their pets spayed/neutered.  Help us get the word out.  Post comments about this article.  Let your county commissioners know what you think.

The responsibility belongs to all of us.  The concern we all have for “Nugget,” the community dog, is needed for the many hundreds of animals that have no home.

Emily Lewy, PAWS President

PAWS (Pet Animal Welfare Society) and TLC (Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Humane Society) are being offered an opportunity to work with a veterinarian to create a low cost North Georgia Spay Neuter Clinic.  Both are 501(c)3 organizations that would qualify for numerous grants for such a project.

State law requires that animals passing through shelters be altered to keep unwanted pets from becoming a burden on taxpayers.  Lumpkin County has legally circumvented the problem by requiring adoptive owners to sign a contract that makes them responsible for the procedure.  County employees have not followed up on enforcement of the contract; consequently, many shelter animals continue to reproduce exacerbating the over-population problem.

Vouchers provided as part of the adoption process are inadequate to cover the cost charged by many local vets.  The reality is that a lot of folks simply don’t have money for the kind of care offered by local veterinarians.   A  low cost clinic for spay/neuter appears to be the only humane way to stop animals from reproducing and their offspring being euthanized.

No matter how much we love our pets, there is a limit to the number we can have.  Most residents of our area already have as many as they can manage.  Although volunteers transport hundreds of pets to rescue groups and adoption opportunities in other parts of the country where spay/neuter laws are actually enforced, our shelters continue to euthanize many healthy pets.  We have not solved the problem.

A low cost spay/neuter clinic is the only thing that can help us eliminate unwanted pets, come into true compliance with state law, and reduce the burden on local taxpayers.

There has been reluctance on the part of PAWS CEO Dan Bowers to allow the PAWS name to be used to solicit funds for this project.  It would be a great travesty if we lose this opportunity.  We cannot expect Dr. Land’s offer to last forever.

If you support a spay/neuter clinic that will save taxpayers money, reduce the numbers of unwanted animals and eliminate unnecessary euthanasia, please, let your voice be heard.  Contact PAWS and TLC members, write letters to The Dahlonega Nugget and post your comments on this website.

The Annual Meeting of our association will be on Tuesday, March 22.  We need all persons concerned about the future of the association and our local government to attend the January meeting to make plans for issues that will be addressed at the Annual meeting. We need to hear from the membership what they want from the association and how each member will contribute to the responsibilities of the association.

Our Bylaws only require one public (Annual) meeting each year with four additional Board meetings that all members may attend.  Our current schedule at United Community Bank provides for meetings January 25, March 22, May 24, September 27, and October 25.

We provide updates on current local issues and discuss new concerns of our members.  We believe that working together we will be more effective at dealing with issues than we are as individuals going up against the challenges alone.