5 Ways to Protect Your Pet on the 4th of July

If you're thinking of taking your dog to a fireworks show Monday night, you may be biting off more than you can chew.

Fireworks can be terribly frightening for pets, often making them panic, bite, and run away, making this weekend the busiest time of year for animal shelters across the country.

"Fourth of July and the day after are usually the busiest days of the year, hands-down," Superintendent Sandi Stadler said.

"The animals are so panicked, they will break through a screen door or chew through wooden fences just to escape. They don’t know where they are escaping to, but they are trying to get away from that noise."

Stadler offered the following tips for keeping your pet safe during the fireworks bonanza.

1. KEEP YOUR ANIMAL SAFELY INDOORS

Make sure your pet is in a sheltered escape-proof area inside your home. Be especially cogniscent of the area; if you leave a window open and there is just a screen there, that is not "escape proof," she said.

2. TAG AND MICROCHIP YOUR PET

If your animal is bound to escape, make sure it has a collar with an identification tag, or a microchip, or ideally both. Animals frequently run away from the cacophony of fireworks and end up at animal shelters.

3. TURN UP THE VOLUME

Put your animal in a room with a television and crank up the volume. This will help create white noise that muffles the loud explosions of the fireworks.

4. HAVE WATER NEARBY

Animals that are panicked will pant and become dehydrated, and often will not move to look for a water source. It is therefore important to put a bowl of water directly beside your pet to ensure they have the access they need.

5. DON'T TAKE YOUR PET TO THE FIREWORKS SHOW

No matter how sociable and well behaved you may think your animal is, a fireworks display can make them panic and behave erradically in order to protect itself.

"Even the friendliest, most social animal, in a crowd, with those fireworks going off—I don’t see how you could hold them respoonsibile if they got freaked out and bit someone," Stadler said.