Contra Costa County Animal Services is reminding Claycord pet owners to keep an eye out for their furry friends during the 4th of July holiday.
Fireworks can be especially frightening for dogs, which are known to escape or hide during Independence Day festivities, according to Animal Services officials. Pet owners are advised to keep their animals inside during nearby fireworks displays and to provide a safe spot indoors for dogs if they get scared. All pets should be outfitted with identification tags and a properly fitted collar in case they do make it outside, Animal Services officials said. Dog owners who can’t be at home today are advised to close all windows and curtains and leave a TV or radio on to help drown out the sound of fireworks. Pet owners should never use fireworks near their dogs, Animal Services officials said.
Many years ago we went to a family BBQ on the 4th and got home later than planned. We had left our beautiful cat outside (he was an outside cat), intending to put him in the garage when we got home. However, he was apparently spooked by the fireworks and was gone when we got home. We live about 500 feet from Mt Diablo Creek, and were concerned about him being hurt by one of the critters at the creek. About 6 weeks later, he came walking back home one morning and never left again. He seemed completely normal and well, like he had never left. He lived 18 1/2 years.
Where we were at, there were fireworks going off all around us, even next door. Plenty of loud booms, long cracklings, the works (more freedom to light off fireworks in this area than there is in CA). Two dogs, one stayed inside and would slightly cower (depending on the intensity of the boom) and the other would go into protect mode and bark at while running toward the location of the sound (it was pretty funny, actually). Both of these dogs were considerably less afraid than our last dog, who we ended up finding cowering in a closet.
They are legal where I live, so we just deal with it. One of our hounds used to be a hunting dog, and nothing fazes her. The other hounds get very nervous about the noise, but this year, their vet gave us some anti-anxiety medication for them, and that seemed to help.