Belle River rabies clinic success despite weather

PHOTO: Ariana Roman, Eliza Morales, Gabby Morales and Dr. Cole Delhomme with Tiger and Honey at the Belle River Rabies Clinic.(Linda Cooke)

The weather on Saturday, April 25, looked a bit ominous, so when customers came to the Belle River meeting room on Hwy. 70 for a rabies clinic, they mostly waited for the vet on the porch with a few inside.
It was hoped the clinic could be held outside, where big dogs could be vaccinated right in the vehicles for safety and speed. However, when Dr. Cole Delhomme and her associates – Brandi Comeaux, Natalie Morck and Celeste Cole – arrived, the weather was just too threatening to stay outside.
While the helpers sat at a table to get information, collect the $5 fee and give collar tags to pet owners, Dr. Delhomme went around the waiting crowd of dogs and cats, giving each the rabies injection so quickly and efficiently, most pets didn’t even know anything had been done to them. Only one dog let out a screech of surprise. The various pets were remarkably well behaved with only a few barks and meows now and then.
In less than the allotted hour for the clinic, Dr. Delhomme had vaccinated 37 cats and dogs and would have been on her way home except it seemed advisable to wait a bit until the blinding rain diminished.
The first and hopefully not the last rabies clinic for Lower St. Martin Parish was a great success thanks to Dr. Cole Delhomme and Sally Angelle of the Teche News who helped arrange the event.
If the weather is better, next year’s clinic should draw lots more customers.