PETA Offers Lifesaving Tips for Safeguarding Cats and Dogs on the Fourth of July

Frightening Fireworks Displays Can Mean Runaways, Injuries

Urgent Animal Advisory
July 2, 2012 

Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382

To dogs, cats, and other animals, Independence Day can seem more like World War III than a summertime celebration. Noisy Fourth of July fireworks are frightening to animals, who don't realize that the explosions are entertainment, not dangerous.

Will you please inform your viewers/listeners of these simple but potentially lifesaving tips in the days leading up to the Fourth of July and in your coverage of holiday events?

After fireworks displays, animal shelters nationwide report an increase in the number of lost companion animals. When animals hear the cracks and booms in the sky on the Fourth of July, many of them panic and jump over fences or break chains. Some even jump through glass windows in order to get away from the terrifying sounds. Some animals are later reunited with their families, but others are never found. Dogs and other animals often arrive at animal shelters disoriented and/or with injuries such as bloody paws from running frantically in search of safety, open wounds from breaking through fences, etc. Some animals are hit and wounded or killed by cars as they flee.

PETA encourages everyone to take the following precautions in order to ensure the comfort and safety of their animal companions:

• Keep cats and dogs inside during fireworks displays and, if possible, stay with your pets.
• Leave your animals at home during the celebrations—never take them with you to watch fireworks displays!
• Never leave animals tethered or chained outside. They can hang themselves if they leap over a fence while trying to run from the noise.
• Close your windows and curtains. Turn on a radio that's tuned to a classical-music station or turn on the TV and air conditioning to help drown out the sound of the fireworks.
• Make sure that your animal companion is microchipped and is wearing a collar or a harness with an up-to-date identification tag—just in case.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or click here.