How to keep your pets safe during fireworks display

Candice Scorer, manager of the SPCA, said they anticipated that they would receive many reports of animals in distress during the evening in the residential area.

Scorer offered the following advice to keep your pets safe during this event:

• Keep some lights on. Keeping a light on will calm your pet and make him feel more secure, rather than being scared in a dark room.
• Dampen the noise. Close the curtains in the room and if your animal is a caged one, cover up the cage in a thick blanket, but make sure it lets some air through so your animal doesn’t suffocate. This will also help to stop the flashes of light affecting your pet.
• Plan to use familiar sounds to drown out the noise of the fireworks. Music from a stereo or turning on the TV are likely familiar sounds that can soothe your pet. Just make sure not to play these sounds ridiculously loud as they can become bothersome themselves.
• Prepare the room. Select a suitable room where you will contain the pets for the duration of the fireworks. An inner room that is least impacted by the noise is ideal. It should be a room that you can close off to prevent your pet from running about the house and injuring itself, wrecking furniture, etc.
• If you have more than one pet, be sure they don’t mind being confined in the same room, or select several rooms for different pets. For example, dogs and cats will usually appreciate being kept separate.
• Make the room cozy. Put down familiar, clean bedding somewhere pleasant such as under a table, on or behind a chair, etc.
• Add some familiar chew toys, scratch pads, balls, etc., to keep your pets amused and distracted.
• Remove any sharp items from the room in case your pet starts jumping or running around.
• Be sure to leave sufficient water and food for your pet in the confinement space. Many pets will be uneasy, or even frantic. If your pet has access to water, it will help calm him, and food supplied in your pet’s regular portion will make him feel like it’s a normal day.
• Keep an eye on your pet, and if possible, stay with them. Comfort them and talk to her. Be friendly but don’t fuss over them too much; this can increase their anxiety if they pick up on yours.

Related articles:

Pet owners warned of fireworks display

Letter to the editor: Stop fireworks – Fun for so few, harms so many

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