Fireworks are for people, not for pets

Kathy Toppins
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND June 30, 2009 02:01 am

— When Edmond families gather outdoors for the LibertyFest fireworks show, Edmond pets will be happier and safer indoors. The fireworks will start at 10 p.m. Saturday, and will end with a grand finale that can rattle the most relaxed dog or cat.
Edmond Animal Welfare encourages pet owners to plan in advance for the three-day weekend.
“Many dogs become extremely frightened when they hear fireworks,” said Jim Fish, Animal Welfare supervisor. Fish recommended keeping pets indoors as much as possible.
Candace Edwards, Edmond Animal Welfare officer, suggested the additional step of crating indoor dogs during fireworks. “If you leave dogs in the house,” Edwards said, “you might want to put them in a crate because some dogs get destructive when they hear thunder or fireworks. We don’t want anyone coming home to a destroyed house.”
On the other hand, dogs left alone outdoors tend to jump over, dig under and push through fences in their attempt to seek cover. “If dogs must go outside when fireworks are still ongoing, either sit in the fenced backyard with them or keep them on a leash,” Fish said.
Although this will be her first Fourth of July as an officer with Edmond Animal Welfare, Edwards said she experienced the impact of fireworks on dogs while working five years at a veterinary office. “Freaked dogs run out into the road and get hit by cars,” she warned.
Both Fish and Edwards stressed the importance of getting identification tags on pets before the weekend activities begin. An identification tag with a current address and phone number is every lost pet’s first ticket home.
“ID tags make it a lot quicker for pets to get home, and half the time they don’t even show up at the shelter because someone else returns them,” Edwards said.
“Several stores in our area have tag-engraving machines that will make tags inexpensively and on the spot,” Fish said. “At a minimum, pet owners can use a permanent marker to write a phone number on the pet’s collar.”
The Edmond Animal Shelter will be closed on Friday and Saturday for the holiday.
“Please call the shelter at 216-7615 on Monday, to report missing and found pets,” Fish said. “We maintain a log that has been very helpful in returning pets to their owners, and we encourage anyone missing a pet to check our stray rooms.”

TO REPORT A MISSING or found pet, call Edmond Animal Welfare at 216-7615 or visit the shelter at 2424 Old Timbers Drive, on the southeast corner of Interstate 35 and Covell Road. For the holiday week only, the shelter is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

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