(Ithaca, NY, October 6) – The Tompkins County Health Department must locate a dog that bit a person on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at approximately 6:30 PM, in front of 325 NY 79/West Seneca Street, in Ithaca.
The dog is described as a female, black and brown, rottweiler puppy, around 4 months old. The puppy had become frightened and was hiding under a car. The owner of the dog is described as a thin, black man, in his 20s, possibly with the first name of Brandon. The person was bitten when they grabbed the dog’s collar to help get the puppy out from under the car.
The Department seeks to verify vaccination status and health of the biting dog through an at home observation over a ten-day period. If the dog can be located and observed to be healthy by the Department, the risk of rabies infection can be ruled out and rabies post-exposure treatment for the person who was bitten will not be necessary.
Anyone with information regarding this dog is urged to call the Tompkins County Environmental Health Division at (607) 274-6688. Staff are on-call at this number to field calls related to rabies and bites, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We would like to remind the public the importance of getting bites checked as soon as possible to determine if rabies post-exposure treatment is needed. Please keep pets up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations and do not approach wildlife.
TCHD will be hosting a free Rabies Vaccination Clinic for dogs, cats and ferrets at the TCAT Bus Garage (737 Willow Ave., Ithaca) on Saturday, October 15th, 11am – 2pm. Register online at: https://tompkinscountyny.gov/health/eh/rabies#clinics
Further information can be found at: tompkinscountyny.gov/health/eh/rabies.
The Tompkins County Health Department is your partner for a healthy community. Find us online at TompkinsCountyNY.gov/health and follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/TompkinsPublicHealth and on Twitter at @TompkinsHealth. Sign up to receive Health Department updates or other county announcements via email or text.
Media Contact: Shannon Alvord, salvord@tompkins-co.org
