Free microchips, rabies shots and food for pets, COVID vaccine for people at Sept. 18 event
Posted On: September 13, 2021
Volusia County Animal Services and the Florida Department of Health are teaming up for a joint, drive-thru event this Saturday, Sept. 18 for people and pets. The event will include microchipping and rabies shots for your pets and COVID-19 vaccinations for you. There even will be pet food available, and it’s all free.
Saturday’s event will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Volusia County Animal Services headquarters, 1250 Indian Lake Road, Daytona Beach. Saturday will be the seventh free community event that Animal Services has hosted since last June.
“Our community has been deeply impacted by the pandemic, and that’s why we continue to have these free events,” said Volusia County Animal Services Director Adam Leath. “Whether it’s microchipping or other services for your pet, or the COVID shot for you, we encourage anyone who needs any of these resources to come by on Saturday. It will be quick and it will be contact-less.”
For safety and convenience, residents will remain in their vehicle during the event and are encouraged to wear a face covering. Dogs should be on a leash and all other pets, including cats, should be in a carrier. For the microchipping service, staff will remove the pet from the vehicle for the quick and painless procedure. Just a few minutes later and the pets will be returned to their owner. To expedite service at the event, the microchip consent form can be printed and filled out before arrival. The form can be downloaded by clicking on the link below:
Animal Services has microchipped more than 1,400 pets during the community events, promoting the tiny device as the most effective way to identify lost or wandering pets and quickly return them to their owners safe-n-sound. Animal Services recently partnered with Volusia County Fire Rescue on a program enabling anyone who picks up a lost pet to bring it to a county fire station to have the animal scanned for a microchip.
“We want to ensure that we can return a lost pet to its family as fast as possible,” said Leath. “That’s where they belong. And the most important part of that is to make sure that your pets are microchipped.
For those coming to Saturday’s event to get the COVID-19 vaccine, this also will be drive-thru service. The shot will be administered by a nurse while you’re in your vehicle. If this is your first in a two-shot series, you will need to follow up with the Health Department, local hospital or other medical facility, pharmacy, Publix, Winn Dixie, Walmart or other public site offering vaccinations in order to get your second shot.
