What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Need help finding a book for a 4th grade student she'd read before. She remembers a boy having been successfully (albeit painfully) treated for rabies after being bitten by a rabid dog (she remembered the description of the painful shot series he received). He then overcomes his fear of dogs to rescue and rehabilitate a stray dog, and both he and the dog are then attacked by another dog.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Found this one via Google search:
A Dog Called Kitty by Bill Wallace

Reader description:
Two years ago Ricky, now going into fifth grade, along with his father, mother, and younger brother Chuckie, moved from their apartment house in St. Louis, MO, to a 160-acre farm near Chickasha, One summer day a stray puppy comes to the farm. But Ricky is afraid of it; in fact, he is scared of all dogs because he was attacked by a rabid dog when he was just a toddler and had to get painful rabies shots. However, Ricky feels sorry for the new puppy because it comes to eat when his mom calls “here kitty” to feed the cats, but they run it off, so it never gets any food. As a result of this, the dog gets the name of Kitty.
Ricky then musters all his courage, begins to feed the pup, and gradually overcomes his fear of dogs.

What year did she read it?
Cover?

Sorry for the delayed response; I wanted to get verification from the student. Mai was absolutely right, and my student is so happy! Thank you so much!