Animal Care Services

Fireworks Scare Pets

Every 4th of July, shelters experience a spike of incoming dogs due to pets escaping their homes in fear of fireworks. The sudden bright flashes and sounds can cause animals to run into roadways, resulting in more car accidents than usual.

Foster the Fourth

When animal shelter admissions spike because of incoming dogs and cats lost due to fireworks, they need space in the shelter. However, LBACS is already over capacity because it is committed to saving every healthy and treatable animal.

You can make a difference for a dog or cat by fostering an available, adoptable pet for at least fourteen [14] days to make space for the incoming animals during the holiday. You would be helping the shelter, the community's animals, and the families of those lost animals, giving them time to reunite with their beloved family members.

CELEBRATE SAFELY TIPS

ID Tags Are the Ticket Home

Pets can become so frightened during fireworks that they may escape the noise by breaking through windows or door screens. All pets should always wear collars with ID tags. Please ensure your pet's microchips are registered with your current contact information.

Safer At Home

Pets are more sensitive to loud noises, flashing lights, and strong smells. It is best to leave your pets safely indoors, preferably with a radio or TV turned on to soften jarring noises.

Keep Your Pet Calm

• Lower a pet's anxiety with the use of anti-anxiety medication and pheromones. These products come in various forms, such as a wipe, spray, collar, or diffuser. Please allow the pet to experience the pheromones before the stress-producing event occurs.

• You can play soothing music and sound to help ease pets' anxiety.

If You Lost Your Pet

STEP 1

Canvass your neighborhood- Talk to your neighbors, ask them to keep an eye out, and give them your contact information. Register for a free "Animal Alert" for your cat or dog on LostMyDoggie  They will create a professional lost pet flyer and Fax AND Email it to 25 nearby shelters/vets!  

STEP 2

Post your lost pet on social media sites- Facebook, Instagram, etc. Send descriptive emails about your lost pet to your animal shelter, local friends, colleagues, and family members, and ask them to pass on the info to anyone they can. Post messages to animal forums and message boards run by groups based in your area. Lots of parks and dog parks have online communities. 

STEP 3

Come to the shelter during normal business hours to walk our kennels - If you do not find your pet, please ask an Animal Care Services staff member to check our Isolation, Feral, and Quarantine sections.

STEP 4

Check with veterinary hospitals, mail carriers, meter readers, delivery people, and other shelters. (If the pet may enter into another shelter's jurisdiction). It is not uncommon for a lost pet to wander for several miles, so search at least seven blocks in either direction.

Don't Give Up!

Once a pet has been held for the required holding period and adopted into a new home, the pet belongs to the new owner. If your pet has been adopted, staff will contact the new owner and ask if they wish to return the pet or contact you. If the new owner chooses not to return the pet or contact you, no other action can be taken. Adoptions are final. 

If You Found A Lost Pet

• If the animal is sick, injured, or aggressive, please call us at 562-570-7387.
• Check for a collar or tags: if there is a phone number on the collar itself or a tag, try calling and texting the number.
• Check for a chip: if safe to do so, have the animal scanned at a local veterinary clinic, pet supply store, or LBACS during business hours for a microchip.
• Go for a walk: Being mindful of safety and physical distancing, take found dogs for a walk on a leash in the neighborhood where it was found. Talk to the neighbors to see if anyone knows the dog, and be on the lookout for any gates left open the pet may have gotten out from.
• Social Media: Post a clear picture and location where the animals were found on local social media pages. Facebook, NextDoor, lostmydoggie.com, and Pawboost are great places to start. Post in the Lost and Found sections, and make sure nobody has posted on the “lost” section an animal matching the one you found. If you cannot find the owner, call us at 562-570-7387 or email animalcare@longbeach.gov.

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