If an animal bites or scratches a person or domestic animal, contact animal services as soon as possible. As mandated by State law, any domestic animal that bites or scratches a person must participate in a 10-day rabies quarantine period. If the animal has an owner and vaccination status can be proven and it is current, it may be quarantined at a location other than a veterinarian's clinic with Morgan County Health Department approval. If vaccination status is not current or cannot be proven as current, it must be quarantined at a veterinarian clinic. If a wild animal bites or scratches a person or a domesticated animal, it may be euthanized without quarantine to expedite rabies testing. If animal services houses or arranges quarantine for any owned animals related to these parameters, applicable charges may apply to the animal owner.
Rabies testing requires euthanasia of the animal, removal of the head and submission of it to the State Health Lab in Montgomery for examination of the brain for presence of the rabies virus.