(Ithaca, NY – October 21, 2022) – The Tompkins County Health Department must locate a dog that bit a person on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, at approximately 8:20 AM, in Fall Creek on North Tioga Street near the corner of King Street, in Ithaca.
The dog is described as a small, possibly a long-haired dachshund, black or brown in color, that was with another small white dog. The dogs were being walked by a woman. The incident occurred as the victim walked past the dogs, and the biting dog lunged, biting the victim. The woman walking the dog asked the victim if they were bit, indicated the dog was recently vaccinated, and then proceeded walking on North Tioga Street.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.
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 COVID-19 updates or other county announcements via email or text.
Media contact: Shannon Alvord, salvord@tompkins-co.org
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