Fireworks, picnics and other Independence Day traditions going on this week can be great fun for people but the festivities can be frightening and even dangerous for our animals, according to President of the Carroll County Humane Society, Teresa Leslie.
Holiday foods can be unhealthy, summer heat and travel can be dangerous and noisy fireworks and other celebrations can startle animals and cause them to run away.
“All week long you will have people shooting off fireworks in their neighborhood or doing celebratory gun fire. All that noise and all that confusion causes animals to act ways that they do not normally act. We want to remind people that you need to keep an eye on your pet and ideally during fireworks they should be indoors,” said Leslie. “If they are outdoors they should not be unaccompanied. They should be on a leash with their owners because even the best behaved dog can panic.”
Leslie encourages pet owners to make sure their animalÂ’s identification tags are accurate and talk to the vet about having your pet micro-chipped in case it does get startled, runs-away, and loses its way back home:
“Statistics show that the day after the fourth is the busiest day for lost animals to be turned in to animal shelters across the country. Same thing is going to happen here in Carroll County. You are going to see Facebook flooded with people saying have you seen my lost dog or saying this job showed up in my yard. It breaks your heart because a lot of times these animals never make their way back home.”
Leslie also suggests checking your yard for fireworks debris after the celebrations before allowing pets outside to play or relax. Even if you didnÂ’t set off fireworks yourself, debris can make its way into your yard, where curious animals may pick it up to play with or eat.
