The MSPCA-Angell Community Outreach team knew they needed to act when a cat recently tested positive for rabies in Dorchester.

The Dorchester neighborhood is one where the Boston-based outreach team is most active, and years of proactive outreach meant that many pets had already been vaccinated through the available programs. But the team wanted to do more to mitigate further risk to the community.

Together with Boston Animal Control, the team notified hundreds of families of the incident, stressing the importance of vaccinations and the danger of approaching any animal acting strangely outside. Thanks to the team's physical presence and their ability to send messages to everyone they've met in the area over the years of work they have done, more than 500 families within a half-mile radius were notified.

An emergency pop-up vaccination clinic was set up in the neighborhood in just two days, providing free rabies and distemper vaccines as well as microchips (a form of permanent identification) to the residents. The clinic vaccinated 35 pets in just two hours with the help of Angell Animal Medical Center veterinarians Dr. Michele James and Dr. David Carabetta, as well as veterinary technicians and outreach team members from all four MSPCA-Angell adoption centers. This added protection layer gave worried families peace of mind and safeguarded the community's health.

Learn more about our Community Outreach program and how we keep pets and families together at mspca.org/outreach.