Fireworks Can Scare Animals to Death: PETA Shares Tips on Protecting Cats and Dogs This Fourth of July
For Immediate Release:
June 25, 2025
Contact:
Sandy Lopez 202-483-7382
Every Fourth of July, fireworks displays send frightened cats and dogs scrambling to climb, break, or dig their way out of wherever they are in a frantic attempt to escape the chaos—and shelters across the country are inundated with animals who fled their homes in terror. To help prevent cats and dogs from becoming lost, injured, or killed, PETA is sharing tips for keeping animals safe and calm during fireworks.
For many animals and their guardians, Independence Day ends in trauma and tragedy. Last year in Florida, fireworks caused a dog named Ozzy to panic and run away, only to be found after he had been hit by a car and lost the use of his back legs; in California, a spooked puppy named Leilani bolted at the first sound of fireworks and went missing for two days; and in Pennsylvania, a terrified emu went missing for 24 hours after fleeing from an outdoor enclosure.
People can help protect animals by taking the following precautions:
- Keep cats and dogs indoors. Never leave animals tethered or chained outside—they can hang themselves if they become caught on fences they try to climb over. Animals can also injure themselves while trying to escape enclosures.
- If you know in advance that there will be fireworks in your area, stay home with your animals and try to keep them calm—and never take animals with you to watch fireworks displays. Signs that dogs are frightened can be subtle to unmissable, including trembling, whining, panting, pacing, drooling, and trying to hide or flee.
- Close your windows and curtains. To help drown out the sounds, turn on fans and air-conditioning units, the TV or a radio tuned to a classical music station, or white noise machines.
- Purchase a ThunderShirt, which can help your dog or cat cope with the anxiety and fear brought on by fireworks. Other ways to keep animals calm include playing specially designed music from iCalmPet and giving them melatonin, a widely available natural supplement, or a prescription medication to alleviate anxiety. (Consult your veterinarian first.)
- Make sure that your animal companion is microchipped and wearing a collar or a harness with an up-to-date identification tag, just in case.
- If it’s cool enough outside, take dogs for a long walk or a romp in the dog park before fireworks start, to help tire them out.
- If you witness someone setting off illegal fireworks, call authorities right away.
- Encourage local officials to ban fireworks displays. Dazzling spectacles such as drone or laser light shows are quieter, safer, and produce virtually no air pollution.
“Fireworks are terrifying for cats and dogs, who have no way of knowing that the booms and blasts aren’t actual bombs bursting in the air,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA encourages revelers to keep their animals safe inside—and ditch the explosives in favor of fireworks-free festivities that the entire family can enjoy.”
In addition to the danger they pose to companion animals, fireworks can also be deeply distressing for wildlife, war veterans, and anyone else sensitive to loud noises or smoke. PETA’s tips (and helpful yard signs, available here) can help make this holiday safer for everyone.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.