Keeping pets safe during the Fourth of July

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It's common for pets to become scared during Fourth of July festivities, which often includes fireworks. Holly Sizemore of Best Friends Animal Society shares how owners can keep their pets calm.

Transcript

00:00I have a Chihuahua, Pebbles is her name. She hates the fireworks. They make her nervous.

00:06And there are some dangers for pets with this. What are some of the biggest dangers

00:11for pets during July 4th celebrations? Well, other than the heat, which is oftentimes a factor

00:18despite the fireworks, you really want to make sure that you're keeping your pets safely in an

00:24acclimated and cool temperatures during this time. Oftentimes we don't realize how hot the

00:30streets might be when we're walking our pets. And then when you're looking at 4th of July

00:35celebrations, it's really about being able to keep your pets safely indoors. The noises really

00:42do aggravate a lot of pets. There's some cool tech saws for this. If you have a pet that you know

00:49is afraid of thunder, they're probably going to be afraid of fireworks too. And there's

00:53things called thunder shirts that you can look into that can really help make your pet feel more

01:00comfortable. If you can be with your pet during the 4th of July celebrations, that really is the

01:05best thing for you to do. And even cats can also be afraid. So just making sure that they have access

01:11to the things that make them feel comfortable, their beds. If you are going out and leaving your

01:16pet at home, keep your pet inside. And we know some pets, they can also be scared during this time.

01:22Others may come to you for attention. How do you prepare and what's kind of the best thing? I feel

01:27like holidays people are going in and outdoors so it can be easy for pets to escape.

01:31It can. And so just use some extra diligence when you're, you know, if you're going outside or if you

01:37have small children, now is the time to remind everybody. Like we want to make sure we keep our

01:43pets inside. We don't want to make them afraid of the fireworks. And so just reminding everybody in

01:49the household, the importance, if you have a pet door, um, close it. My, I had one dog actually who

01:55during a firework display, we were home, but she got so nervous. She actually tried to leave the

02:01house through the pet door and got stuck. It was the cat door. It was not her door. She was a big dog

02:06and her head actually got stuck in the pet door. So if you have a pet door, shut it.

02:11And you were talking about the dangers of heat and pets. What are some of the warning signs that you

02:19should look for in your pet when they're getting overheated?

02:24Yes. Well, they typically do pant a lot and always, if you're walking in hot weather, take water with you.

02:32Some great advice there as we continue to talk about the heat. And of course, we know that, uh,

02:37there's a lot of, uh, a lot of ways that you can help your pets this summer, trying to stay cool.

02:42Holly Sizemore, chief mission officer at Best Friends Animal Society. Thank you again so much for

02:48joining us this morning. Thank you. Take care.

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