Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control wants pet owners to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday while keeping their pets safe and secure. Dogs, cats, and even small animals can easily become overwhelmed by the sudden explosions of fireworks causing panic and fear leading to a spike in runaway pets. The celebrations and picnics can also put your pets at risk.
To keep pets safe, we offer the following tips:
- Keep dogs inside your home or inside an air-conditioned building as much as possible when fireworks are being used in your area.
- Cats and small animals should be kept inside at all times
- Secure gates and supervise your animals while outside
- Be sure to microchip your pet and keep current identification on your pet’s collar
- Give pets a safe place to hide (a bedroom or other quiet space) turn on a television, radio, fan or other ambient noise to drown out the sound of fireworks.
- Pets should not be taken to any parade or celebration where fireworks or sirens occur. Loud noises increase the chance of your pet fleeing and becoming lost in an unfamiliar area.
- Never take your pet in the car with you. Even on a 70-degree day the inside of a car can reach temperatures of 120 degrees or more in a matter of minutes. Partially opened windows won’t provide sufficient air, but do provide an opportunity for your pet to be stolen, experience a seizure or even death.
- While fireworks have the potential to cause serious toxicity for pets, common concerns with exposure to fireworks include gastrointestinal upset, corrosive injury, dermal burns and possible foreign body obstruction.
- Keep pool chemicals and products away from your pets while celebrating at pools as these can cause serious toxic exposure when pets come into direct contact with them
- Keep pets away from picnic foods to avoid toxic exposure – Summer festivities include a plethora of foods pets should not get into: Grapes/raisins, onions and garlic, xylitol, macadamia nuts, chocolate, moldy food, avocados, cherry pits and alcohol to name a few.
Animal Care & Control will be CLOSED on Tuesday, July 4th for the Holiday. Animal Control officers will be available for emergency response and may be reached by calling 449-3000.
If your pet disappears, our business office will be open Wednesday, July 5th from 11am-7:00pm for people to search for a lost pet. Anyone finding a lost animal is asked to file a found report with the shelter. The animal can be kept in the finder’s home or relinquished to Animal Care & Control, located at 3020 Hillegas Road. Call 427-1244 for information and to immediately report a found pet.
With festival season in full swing we also want to remind pet owners to keep their animals at home when heading out with the family. It is against city ordinance to take your pets to festivals in Fort Wayne, other than approved events.
