4th of July pet safety tips
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)-- July 5th is the biggest pet intake day for El Paso Animal services (EPAS). On average, EPAS takes in around 50 pets a day but on the days following the 4th of July, that number can get as high as 70 to 100 pets a day.
Julieanne Newbold, public affairs coordinator for El Paso Animal services, suggest not bringing pets to 4th of July festivities. "It might be fun for you, and you might think it's fun for your pets, but pets have really heightened senses of hearing, so hearing those firework noises can be very scary for them. It's very, very loud. They don't know what's going on, especially if you're in these crowded places."
Newbold recommends leaving pets at home but bringing them inside. She says you can confine them inside of a bedroom, a bathroom, even the garage for the night so they don't run away. If you prefer to kennel your pet, Newbold suggest adding their favorite toys, blankets and some calming music to relax them and distract them from the sounds of the fireworks.
This is also a good time to make sure microchip information is accurate, pet owners can do this by logging into their microchip registry, updating that information. Newbold says you can also write your phone number on you pets collar that way, if they happen to go missing, it's much easier to reunite them back with their families.
