ANIMAL OWNERS BEWARE

Dear Editor,

This past April I brought my cat to the Firemen’s Training Center for a rabies vaccination which was run by the Rockland County Health Department. My cat was enclosed in a carrying case. When it was my cat’s turn for a shot, and even before I blinked my eyes the veterinarian opened the door of the carrier, reached in and within a split second my cat was out of the carrier with his teeth sunk into the vet’s arm. The cat was in such a panic and fear for his life that it ran and escaped through the open doors never to be seen again. No all out effort was made to try and find it.

First of all, any experienced and knowledgeable veterinarian would never reach into a carrying case which contained a full grown car before at least testing the disposition of the animal while it was in the case. Second, my cat would never have escaped through the open doors had the animals been vaccinated in a completely enclosed space comparable to the size of a vet’s examining room. If this had been done the animals would have been safely returned to its carrying case.

This past Sunday another rabies session sponsored by the Rockland County Health Department took place at the Training Center. It was obvious that no lessons were learned an no precautions were taken to prevent another disastrous outcome from happening to another animal. No accommodations were made for an enclosed room to vaccinate unpredictable animals. Doors were again wide open for any animal to escape. After the April session when this was brought to the attention of a Rockland County Health Department female spokesperson, all she did was give her sympathy for the loss of the animal, admitted that animals did run away in the past and promised to look into the problem.

I lost the affection of an intelligent and devoted animal who trusted me implicitly – who trusted me to take him to a veterinarian who knew how to handle animals. I’ll never forget nor will I forgive the careless and slipshod handling of my animal nor will I forgive certain individuals who allowed my animals to escape because of a haphazardly run operation.

Sincerely,

Martin Bagrosky, WWII Vet

Thiells

  beware, fire houe, pet owners, rockland county