(Photo Credit: Camille Tokerud / Getty Images)

July 5th Is the Busiest Day of the Year for U.S. Animal Shelters

On July 5th, while many people relax after Independence Day, others spend the day searching desperately for their lost pets. These could be dogs who, frightened by July 4 fireworks displays, escaped the yard. Or indoor-outdoor cats who usually come inside when called but are nowhere to be found after the neighbor’s late-night firecracker marathon.

Animal shelters all across the country are also prepping for July 5, their busiest day of the year.

Jess Wnuk, Executive Director of Grand Strand Humane Society in Myrtle Beach, said that although people love their pets, the celebration is lost on them. “People want their dogs out with them at BBQs, family get-togethers,” she told ABC-affiliate WPDE. “It’s so important that you make sure your pet is secure, that they have proper identification because they are so likely to get spooked with fireworks, loud noises, extra traffic.”

The Enid Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals expected calls to increase by 40 percent on the morning of July 5.

“There’s nothing to fight, so they’re going to run to try and get safe,” Executive Director, Vickie Grantz told EnidNews.com of the lost pets she expects will fill her shelter kennels come Friday morning. “They will do anything. They will dig out, they will climb over, they will injure themselves to get away. If some kid in your neighborhood is shooting off some kind of firework and it lands by your fence, they will do almost anything to try and get away because they don’t understand what’s happening.”

However, there’s some good news! Here are several preventative measures you can take to make sure your beloved pet doesn’t become a statistic this holiday weekend.

How To Prepare for July 5

July 5 animal shelter
(Photo Credit: FatCamera / Getty Images)
  1. Leave the pets safely at home, inside a cool home and behind secure doors.
  2. Try playing music on a radio or leaving the television on to drown out the noise outside.
  3. Do not leave your pet unsupervised, even in a fenced yard. Frightened dogs, startled by fireworks are more likely to jump fences to try and escape the noise.
  4. Do not leave your pet tied up outside. Animals scared by fireworks can strangle themselves to try and break free.
  5. Most importantly, make sure your pet’s identification tags and microchip information are up-to-date with your current contact information.

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