Monday, April 7, 2008

South Carolina Pet News


As I previously blogged, April is South Carolina's month to encourage owners to get their pets vaccinated for Rabies by offering $3 vaccinations. SC DHEC has a list of clinics by county on their website. South Carolina mandates that pets be revaccinated according to the vaccine's labeling. That is, if your Vet administers the Rabies vaccine labeled for 3 years, your pet does not require revaccination for 3 years. However if your Vet administers the Rabies vaccine labeled for 1 year, your pet must be revaccinated annually. So before having the Rabies vaccine administered to your pet, ask which vaccine is being used.

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SC State Senator Kent Williams of Marion County apparently subscribes to the 'Do as I say, not as I do' philosophy. Williams, who "wrote a column published in the Marion Star & Mullins Enterprise in which he admonished pet owners and potential pet owners to be responsible" adopted three dogs from his local kill shelter in 2007. He gave two away to family members (Whaaaaaaa?) and kept the third dog - a German Shepherd bitch - for himself. He left her with an automatic water and food dispenser in some type of enclosure which was apparently easy to escape from - which she did, numerous times. In violation of state and county laws, Williams did not spay the bitch after adoption but instead allowed her to become pregnant. Shortly before she was due to whelp in March of 2008, he gave the county animal control officer a ring and told him to pick the bitch up and return her to the kill shelter. Nice. If you'd like to let Senator Williams know what you think, his contact information is here.

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The Williams case comes on the heels of a state agriculture official, James Trexler, resigning amidst charges in connection with horse abuse in SC and GA. That one's a family affair with Trexler's mother and brother (a former lawyer, disbarred in 2001) facing charges as well.

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SC Senate Bill 833 - a pending piece of legislation regarding the tethering and crating of dogs - has undergone some revisions from its previously vague wording. Read the current version here. I'm not sure exactly what the point of this legislation is as it seems about impossible to prove someone is in violation but what do I know - I'm no politician...

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