Three barangays in the city found positive in rabies
Three barangays here in the city of Koronadal were found positive in rabies. This includes Brgy. San Isidro with two (2) cases of rabies, while in Brgy. Sta. Cruz and Assumption have each one (1) case of a rabid dog. These cases have been discovered during the execution of an annual anti-rabies vaccination by the city veterinary office.
Upon learning the cases of rabies, City Veterinarian Dr. Charlemagne Calo immediately conducted lectures on animal cruelty and rabies as an intervention emphasizing its causes and effects to dogs and people. He also encourages dog owners to be responsible through yearly rabies vaccination, making the environment clean including the way they secure and feed their pets.
Rabies is a virus that is usually spread by the bite or scratch of an animal. Anyone who receives a bite from a rabid dog should seek immediate treatment because, by the time the symptoms appear, it is generally too late to save the patient.
Calo further appealed to all dog owners to be responsible for securing their pet dogs because 99% of these domestic animals are hard to control and complaints are becoming increasingly common on roads that have caused motorists’ discomfort and frequent vehicular accidents. He suggested that female dogs must be castrated because they are the source of rabies and to control their population as well.
For now, his office has a proposal to purchase a lot for city dog pound and very hopeful that this would be materialized with in the next three (3) years to reduce the stray dogs. But the official emphasized that dog pound is not the main solution to get rid of stray dogs rather the full cooperation and responsibility of the dog owners is needed so the cycle will not be repeated.