July 4th is the most common day to lose your pets after being scared off by fireworks.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — To many people, fireworks on the 4th of July celebrate patriotism. But for dogs, all they hear is the loud, frightening booms, which sometimes prompts them to run away in fear.
Experts say that July 4th is the most common day that pet owners lose their furry friends.
“So every year, when we come in the day after being closed for the Fourth of July, there's always a lot of voicemails, always a lot of people calling that have either found or lost pets,” said Justine Lentz with Fayetteville Animal Services.
Since July 4th, Clayton Morgan at the Humane Society for Animals in Northwest Arkansas says he's already had a few come in from Thursday's thunderstorms and fireworks shows.
“We've got five dogs in from the storms, just all areas of the county, you know. And what we'll do is bring them in here. We'll house them with microchips. We'll post them online. So always anyone looking for their animals is missing, especially in the rural areas of the county. I post everything that's been brought in on our Facebook page,” Morgan said.
The most important thing to do to help find your pet is to make sure they have a microchip, and if your pet doesn't, Lentz says you can still get them for free at Fayetteville Animal Services for a limited time.
“We still have a limited number of free microchips that we will do for anybody without an appointment. They're welcome to come in and get that done. It usually takes about 10 or 15 minutes, and then all year long, we also offer free ID tags for pets. So we have a little engraver machine. Those are free. You're welcome to stop by any time and have it done,” Lentz said.
Any local vet or animal shelter can scan a dog for free, and if you need to scan at a time where no place is open, you can always go to All Dogs Clinics in Rogers where they have a self-scanner that is open 24/7.
But the best thing to do is make sure your pet is safely inside during firework season.
“Any dog just needs to be brought in tonight, Fourth of July, because it's going to be, it's going to be traumatic for them. Just bring them in the house. Any animals, dogs, cats, just bring them inside where it's cool, quiet and just let them relax in the house,' Morgan said.
Morgan adds that he is still trying to find homes for close to 80 dogs they've found since the Memorial Day weekend tornadoes.
“Take a look at our adoptions. We've taken 77 animals in since a tornado, and we still have most of those, so we're trying to transport some out. Please come out, we've got some wonderful dogs for adoption,” Morgan said.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.
