Have you planned for your pets on the 4th?

Many outlets report that July 5th is the busiest day of the year for animal shelters; many pets get frightened and panic because of fireworks, running away and getting lost.

If you are hosting a party, consider placing pets in an enclosed area so they don’t slip out of an open door as guests come and go. And be careful that they don’t ingest party foods, alcohol, or get into packages of fireworks.

Plan to keep pets indoors, and provide some sort of background noise (the television or a radio) to help drown out the sound of fireworks. If you’re attending a fireworks show, don’t take your pets.

Always have identification on your pets, either a collar with tags or a registered microchip (you’d be surprised how many pet owners pay for microchips but then don’t register them or update contact information).

If you use acepromazine for traveling with your pets, don’t use it for noise anxiety – it can cause animals to become hyper-reactive to noises and will make things worse.

Do your pets get stressed? What are your strategies for dealing with it?