Lake Highlands dog Agent Bauer: Photo by Kim Leeson
Knowing that fireworks drive many canines crazy, let’s think about how to keep them safe, and out of our city’s animal shelter.
So imagine you’re a dog, just chillin in your hammock after a long hot day when suddenly the sky erupts — booming, crackling, catching fire, exploding. “What. The. Heck?” the animal thinks (because doggies don’t swear, of course).
And that is why your pet is more likely to make a run for it on Independence Day than any other day of the year, according to Dallas Animal Services‘ Jody Jones.
“The Fourth can be a very scary time for pets. The sights and sounds are very frightening,” she said in past discussions.
It is generally the busiest time of the year for reception of lost pets at DAS.
Last year Jones suggested area residents make the preemptive move of downloading an app that can help reunite pet owners with lost animals — it’s called Finding Rover and creators boast “state-of-the-art technology that enables anyone to instantly identify missing dogs by simply taking or uploading a photo of the dog. The facial recognition technology for dogs has proven to be 98 percent successful.” Finding Rover also offers grants and other types of assistance to DAS and other groups.
Many fireworks shows allow dogs, but don’t bring Fido unless you are sure being that close to the action won’t really mess him up — we wouldn’t want to see our neighborhood pooches in this situation (which occurred in San Antonio on New Year’s Eve): “There were reports of dogs on leashes breaking away from their owners when fireworks exploded nearby; others jumped fences and at least one dog was found injured after trying to escape the commotion.”
In San Diego last year, 156 dogs wound up at local shelters on or just after July 4.
The most patriotic, country-loving, service dog might be more prone than any to bolt at the sound of gunfire or fireworks — like this beautiful doberman mix Milka, who was a companion to a war veteran with PTSD. It took some years, but the vet felt he could handle a firework display last year, unfortunately Mika could not; she struggled free from her collar and took off at ludicrous speed.
A full month passed, but Milka finally was found.
Happy Fourth weekend.
