09/28/2025
The cooler nights will find bats looking for a warm place to spend the night, like your house or your barn. PLEASE for the love of your horse, get them vaccinated against rabies. This disease is 100% fatal. And handlers often can get infected before a horse is symptomatic, requiring a very uncomfortable treatment to save their lives. Add the vaccine in to your horse’s (and barn cats!!) annual series if you don’t already. The life you save could be your own!
Rabies & Bat Safety Reminder
Last week, one of our veterinary assistants found this bat inside their home - a reminder that as the weather cools, bats often seek shelter indoors.
Rabies is always fatal in animals once symptoms appear and nearly always in humans. The only protection is prevention. That’s why our policy requires all patients to stay current on rabies vaccination.
If you wake up to a bat in your bedroom, or discover one in a room with a child, someone sleeping, or anyone unable to report contact, treat it as a possible rabies exposure - even if no bite is visible. Wash the area thoroughly with soap and water and contact your health care provider immediately.
If possible, capture the bat without harming it. You will need heavy gloves, a small box or container, sturdy cardboard or a thin board and tape.
To safely capture a bat for testing:
1. Put on thick gloves before attempting to capture the bat.
2. Wait for the bat to land.
3. Slowly approach and place a small container over the top of the bat.
4. Slide the cardboard or cutting board under the container, trapping the bat inside.
5. Once the bat is in the container, securely tape the container shut so it cannot escape.
6. Place a few very small holes, less than a quarter inch in size, in the container to keep the
bat alive.
7. Contact Berrien County Animal Services at 269.927.5648 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Monday through Friday to receive instructions on next steps. After hours, call Berrien
County Dispatch’s non-emergency line at (269) 983 3060
