Guilford County offers free rabies clinic in High Point amid rising cases

A free rabies clinic in High Point gave Guilford County pet owners a low-cost way to protect animals at a moment when rabies is still turning up across the county. Guilford County Animal Services held the clinic Wednesday, April 15, 2026, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Allen Jay Recreation Center, 1073 E Springfield Road, with free 1-year vaccines for pets at least four months old that were crated or leashed.

The timing matters because Guilford County has continued to confirm animal rabies cases in 2025 and 2026. County records show a fourth confirmed case in 2025 on July 22, involving a cat on Harvey Road in Jamestown. In 2026, the first confirmed case came on January 5, when a cat on Apple Wyrick Road in Gibsonville tested positive. Two more cases followed in Greensboro, including a raccoon on Clay Street on February 25 and another raccoon on Nathanael Greene Drive on March 24.

That pattern is why a clinic like this can matter for families who may already be balancing work schedules, transportation and the cost of routine veterinary care. Guilford County’s rabies clinic schedule says one-year rabies vaccines are generally offered at clinics for $10, and Guilford County Animal Control also offers at-home rabies vaccines for $10 per animal for qualifying residents who cannot safely bring their animals to a clinic.

North Carolina law requires dogs, cats and ferrets to be kept currently vaccinated against rabies beginning at four months of age. Public-health officials also note that raccoon rabies is present in the raccoon population in virtually every North Carolina county, which keeps the risk alive for pets that roam outdoors or come into contact with wildlife.

The broader danger is not limited to animals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 100,000 Americans receive rabies vaccination after potential exposures each year, while fewer than 10 people die from rabies annually in the United States. Even so, rabies is nearly always fatal once symptoms start, which makes prevention far easier than response.

For Guilford County, the High Point clinic was a practical defense against a virus that does not stay confined to one neighborhood. A $10 vaccine, or a free one during a clinic, can spare families the fear and expense that follow a possible exposure.