Long weekend fireworks can spook your pet! Top tips to keep animals calm and safe

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Stouffville, ON (July 27, 2022) – With the Civic holiday weekend approaching, the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society is reminding pet families that fireworks can be frightening to animals and to take precautions to keep pets safe. Unexpected loud noises and flashing lights can make our furry companions feel anxious, even cause them to flee and become lost.  

Here are some top tips for pet parents to keep animals calm and safe if there are fireworks taking place in your neighbourhood: 

1. Keep animals indoors during firework displays, making sure to close windows and doors. Startled animals may seek a place to hide and if they manage to get outside, it can be easy to lose them. If you need to take your dog outside, keep them leashed at all times to prevent them from bolting and becoming lost.  

1. Ensure your pet wears a properly fitted collar and ID tags. Microchipping is also encouraged to help increase the chances of being reunited with your pets if they become lost.  

1. Walk your dog before it gets dark to avoid going outside once the fireworks start.   

1. Have a safe place for your fur baby to feel at ease, like a crate or other den-like enclosure in a quiet area of your home. 

1. Block out flashing lights by keeping curtains and blinds closed or by placing a blanket over your animal’s crate. 

1. Turn on the TV or play quiet music to help drown out the noise. 

1. Stay calm! Animals may pace around, make noise, or search for a place to hide. Let them be – remaining calm will help reassure that there’s no danger. 

1. Even if your dog doesn’t show signs of distress, resist the urge to bring them with you to watch a fireworks display. Dogs are far more sensitive to the sounds and smells produced by fireworks than we are and would be happier in the quiet of their home. 

“It’s important to keep in mind, fireworks are a completely foreign experience for animals. Fireworks come without warning and can be very scary as a result,” says Megan Holmes, Animal Behaviour Coordinator, Ontario SPCA and Humane Society. “You can’t control how your neighbours choose to celebrate their holiday, but you can take steps to help ease your animal’s anxiety and ensure they have a safe and relaxing holiday, too.”  

For more ways to keep animals calm and safe during firework celebrations, visit ontariospca.ca 

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MEDIA CONTACT 

Media Relations  

Ontario SPCA and Humane Society   

905-898-7122 x 375 

media@ontariospca.ca 

The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society

The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society is a registered charity, established in 1873. The Society and its network of communities facilitate and provide for province-wide leadership on matters relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals and the promotion of animal well-being. Offering a variety of mission-based programs, including community-based sheltering, animal wellness services, provincial animal transfers, shelter health & wellness, high-volume spay/neuter services, animal rescue, animal advocacy, Indigenous partnership programs and humane education, the Ontario SPCA is Ontario’s animal charity. 

The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society Provincial Office sits on the traditional territory of the Wendat, the Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Mississaugas of Scugog, Hiawatha and Alderville First Nations and the Métis Nation. This territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. The treaties that were signed for this particular parcel of land are collectively referred to as the Williams Treaties of 1923.