I really think a gigantic red, white and blue cake with forks for everyone is the right way to celebrate our country’s birthday, but people just keep lighting fuses and blowing stuff up. So until my idea catches on, especially since this year the Fourth falls smack between two weekends, how best to cope with a couple weeks’ sporadic explosions? More specifically, how to help our animals cope?
There are real risks of injury from fireworks of course, but it’s more than just the obvious. Temporary, even permanent damage to hearing and eyesight can result, and pets who typically wouldn’t think of hopping or breaking through fences can behave atypically when terrified. Pets should be indoors, but let’s be thoughtful even about that: Dogs have been known to jump through glass windows; you’d be amazed at how small a space a terrified cat needs for escape; and electric cords dangling from table lamps can become wrapped around a skittish animal, bringing table-top objects crashing to the floor.
Typically, the few days following the Fourth are among the busiest for animal shelters, responding to reports of injured and frightened lost animals — as well as their anxious people. Please keep your pets safe and secure and most definitely inside and, just in case, make sure they are wearing current identification.