The Great Falls Animal Shelter is hosting a free rabies vaccination clinic on Sept. 28 for World Rabies Day.

The walk-in clinic is 4-6 p.m. with no appointments necessary and vaccines are free for dogs and cats.

Pets must be leashed or kenneled during the event.

According to the shelter, rabies is a serious infection of the brain and central nervous system.

It’s rare in domestic animals and is most commonly transmitted through a bite from wildlife such as raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes, whose saliva contains the infectious virus.

Once the virus enters your pet’s body, it replicates in the muscles and nerve fibers, eventually traveling to the central nervous system. The virus can take up to four weeks to fully develop, but once symptoms appear, the infection spreads quickly, and death can occur within 10 days, according to the shelter.

Vaccinating pets provides protection against rabies and pets should receive their first rabies vaccine between four and six months of age, followed by a booster a year later, according to the shelter.