Maine Shelters Fill With Lost Pets Because Of Fireworks

According to WGME, every July 4th Maine animal shelters fill up with lost pets who have been spooked by booming fireworks.

The flash and thunderous bangs of fireworks can send animals running, and often they get lost or hurt.

Here are some 4th of July safety tips for keeping pets and farm animals safe:

• don't bring pets to fireworks displays
• don't leave them in the car, if the get scared they could hurt themselves and if it's hot they could suffer heat stroke
• pets are safest in a crate, if they are sued to them or closed in a room that they can't escape from
• music might help dampen the sound of fireworks to a dog's sensitive ears
• microchip your pet so that they can be returned to you if found
• horses should be put in the barn or stall for the night
• keep all fireworks, sparklers and glow sticks away from pets
• compression wraps like Thundershirts provide soothing, gentle pressure to calm pets
• never use fireworks near your pet, they contain toxic substances and your pet could get burned or suffer trauma