Start with Your Veterinarian
Caring for a new pet begins with a trip to the vet. Your veterinarian can keep your animal healthy throughout its life, advise you on the vaccines it needs under local rules and for its own wellbeing, and treat illnesses or injuries as they arise. Keep in mind that every dog and cat four months of age or older must be up to date on rabies vaccination, and only a veterinarian can give that shot.
Low-Cost Vaccine Options
Several clinics and mobile clinics in and around Fredville offer vaccines at reduced prices.
Two Bits Pet Clinic
Two Bits Pet Clinic, at 1830 W. Sentinel Trail, provides budget-friendly vaccines and other pet services. Call the clinic directly at (555) 010-3254. The clinic is independent and is not part of FVAS.
Fix-It Pet Clinic Network
This nonprofit offers vaccines and other pet care at reduced cost.
- To have your pet spayed or neutered, call the Fix-It Pet Clinic Network directly at (555) 010-6383. Surgeries are not performed at off-site events held at the Fredville Paws Adoption Center.
- Ask the network for its current clinic price list.
Cottonwood Coalition for Animal Care (CCAC)
CCAC provides vaccinations and other pet services at reduced prices.
Budget Pet Shots Mobile Clinic
This provider offers affordable shots for dogs and cats and brings its mobile clinic to Fredville two times each month. Contact the clinic for its schedule and prices.
Vaccines for Cats
Vaccines exist to prevent disease and fight off viruses. Before they were available, viral infections killed many pets; since their introduction, deaths from viruses that can be vaccinated against have dropped sharply.
A healthy newborn kitten has an immune system that has never met a virus or other foreign material. Nursing passes along some of the mother's protection against the viruses she is immune to. Those maternal antibodies usually shield a kitten from the most common viruses for its first five or six weeks, and then that protection starts to fade.
In earlier times, many cats died of panleukopenia (also called feline distemper) or of complications from upper respiratory illnesses such as herpesvirus and calicivirus. Today, vaccines can also guard against feline leukemia virus, feline infectious peritonitis and other infections including chlamydia, feline bordetella and ringworm. Routine vaccination also keeps cats, and the people around them, safe from rabies.
Most vaccines are given as shots, though some newer ones are sprayed into the nose and protect against several infections at once. Many veterinarians consider yearly revaccination a vital part of preventive care.
Vaccines for Dogs
Before modern vaccines, dogs commonly died of distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus and complications from respiratory infections. Today's vaccination programs also protect dogs and their families from rabies, and intranasal vaccines help prevent a range of other infections.
Puppies should start a series of shots at six to eight weeks old, with the final dose usually given at 14 to 16 weeks. The series should cover canine distemper, canine adenovirus, parainfluenza and canine parvovirus. If your puppy could be exposed to kennel cough, a bordetella vaccine is also advised. The rabies shot, typically given at 16 to 26 weeks, must follow Texas law. Depending on where you live, a newer vaccine against certain strains of leptospirosis may also be worth considering.
Young adult dogs, from about 20 weeks to two years old, need boosters of their puppy shots to build lasting protection against serious viral diseases. Most vets recommend a booster one year after the puppy series to keep adult dogs protected against distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza and parvovirus, with bordetella added when kennel cough is a concern. Rabies vaccination must continue to meet Texas law, and a leptospirosis vaccine may be wise in some areas. Ask your veterinarian which vaccines suit your dog best.
Rabies Prevention
Rabies is a fatal virus that attacks the brain and nervous system. People and pets can catch it when an infected animal bites or scratches them, or when the animal's saliva gets into the eyes, nose, mouth or an open cut. Any warm-blooded animal can carry rabies, but in Texas the highest-risk species are bats, skunks, foxes, coyotes and raccoons.
- Dogs and cats four months of age or older must be vaccinated against rabies.
- Under Texas law, a licensed veterinarian must give the vaccine, and the certificate must show both the date given and the expiration date.
- Dogs and cats must wear a current rabies tag.
Beyond vaccination, keeping your pet at home is one of the best ways to protect it from rabies and other hazards. Never let your pet roam loose.
To protect your family, do not keep wild animals as pets and avoid touching any animal that is sick, hurt or dead. If anyone is bitten, wash the wound right away with soap and water, see a doctor, and let the police or Animal Services know about the bite.
More rabies information is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Texas Department of State Health Services (PDF, 183 KB).
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