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Updated:
September 26, 2011
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PETITION DENIED
March 30, 2010
The Commissioner of Health and Social Services
has denied the petition of Grateful Dogs of Juneau for an
amendment to the state rabies control regulations to authorize a
temporary deferral of the rabies vaccination requirement for
dogs that are too ill to receive the rabies vaccine.
Click
here to view the letter from the commissioner.
Grateful Dogs of Juneau will continue to pursue
this issue in the future.
Temporary
Deferral of Rabies Vaccination for Medical Conditions
The Grateful Dogs of Juneau
has submitted a petition to the Department of Health and Social
Services requesting that the department amend its rabies control
regulations to authorize a temporary deferral of the rabies
vaccination requirement for dogs that are too ill to safely
receive the rabies vaccine.
The petition was submitted to the
department on March 22, 2010. The department now has
30 days to either deny the petition or to schedule the proposed
regulation for a public hearing.
Substance of the Proposed Regulation.
The petition seeks to amend the
current rabies control regulation (7
AAC 27.022) by adding a new paragraph (a)(7) to allow
certain dogs to be temporarily exempted from the rabies
vaccination requirement for medical reasons.
-
the deferral from the rabies
vaccination requirement would be available only for dogs.
-
in order to receive a
temporary deferral the dog must have a medical condition as
the result of a disease, illness, or regimen of therapy, or
other physical condition for which a rabies vaccination is
contraindicated.
-
the deferral would apply only
to dogs that receive a certificate of deferral of rabies
vaccination.
-
a veterinarian must examine
the dog before issuing a certificate.
-
the certificate of deferral
of rabies vaccination could be issued only by a veterinarian
authorized to practice in Alaska.
-
in order to issue the
certificate, the veterinarian must find that the dog has a
medical condition as the result of a disease, illness, or
regimen of therapy, or other physical condition for which a
rabies vaccination is contraindicated.
-
the veterinarian will issue
the certificate for the anticipated duration of the medical
condition, but not more than one year.
-
the veterinarian must sign
the certificate.
-
the owner of the dog must
also sign the certificate.
-
the veterinarian must keep
the certificate as part of the dog's medical records.
-
the dog's owner must receive
a copy of the certificate.
-
upon request, the
veterinarian must provide a copy of the certificate to the
Department of Health and Social Services or a local animal
control agency.
Click
Here to view proposed regulation
Click
Here to view proposed certificate of deferral of rabies
vaccination
Click
Here to view the Petition submitted to the Department of
Health and Social Services.
What
can you do now to support the proposed regulation?
Right now the Department of
Health and Social Services is considering whether to proceed
with the proposed regulation and to schedule a public hearing on
the proposed regulation. The department has 30 days to
decide whether to proceed with the proposed regulation.
If the department decides to
reject the petition for the proposed regulation, then
process is over.
If you think that a
temporary deferral of the rabies vaccination requirement for
dogs due to the dog's medical condition deserves a public
hearing (or even if you don't), then you should contact the
department to let them know that this is an important issue to
you and that the department needs to address this issue.
Send your letter or email in
support of consideration of the proposed regulation to the
following address and be sure to describe the proposed
regulation that you are talking about.
Bill Hogan, Commissioner
Department of Health and
Social Services
P. O. Box 110601
Juneau, AK 99811-0601
Email at:
william.hogan@alaska.gov
RE: Petition for
Adoption of Regulation Under AS 44.62.220:
Temporary Deferral of
Rabies Vaccination Due to Medical Conditions
Your letters
in support of the proposed regulation are needed as soon as
possible.
* * *
The time to speak about the
pros and cons of the proposed regulation will come once the
department decides to schedule a public hearing to receive
comments about the regulation. We will have at least 30
days to comment on the proposed regulation at that time.
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