Animal shelters see influx of pets after the Fourth of July

Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control says it is ready for an influx in pets on the Fourth of July.

PetAmberAlert says more pets go missing on the Fourth of July than any other time of year because of noisy fireworks. It also says animal control officials see a 30-60 percent increase in lost pets each year between July 4 and 6, and July 5 is one of the busiest days of the year for shelters.

Diane Webber with Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control says animals react negatively to the loud bangs and booms of fireworks.

“You start to see a lot of animals that get out of their home they break through you know fences, doors, I’ve even seen them go through a window,” Webber said.

There are some things people can do to keep their pets safe.

“Well one of the good things that you can do is to keep the house dim and quiet. Confine your pet to a room where you can have soft music playing something that can kind of drown out the noises that will be coming from outside,” Webber said.

She says something people should try not to do is to comfort their pet.

“It’s just human nature to say oh it’s okay it’s okay ‘cause that’s how we comfort people but that’s not what a pet understands they think you’re saying it’s okay for them to react that way so just try to act normal and hopefully they’ll see that you’re not reacting to that noise and they’ll try to pick up on that vibe,” Webber said.

She says there may still be time to get a microchip. If the pet does wind up in the shelter, the workers will scan for the microchip and it will tell them who the pet belongs to.

“A microchip is really cool because the number that comes up on the microchip belongs to you only so nobody can take that number nobody can say that it’s there’s it’s your number,” Webber.

She says people will be on call the night of the Fourth from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.. They will take calls if people lose their pets