00:00I have a Chihuahua, Pebbles is her name. She hates the fireworks. They make her nervous.
00:06And there are some dangers for pets with this. What are some of the biggest dangers
00:11for pets during July 4th celebrations? Well, other than the heat, which is oftentimes a factor
00:18despite the fireworks, you really want to make sure that you're keeping your pets safely in an
00:24acclimated and cool temperatures during this time. Oftentimes we don't realize how hot the
00:30streets might be when we're walking our pets. And then when you're looking at 4th of July
00:35celebrations, it's really about being able to keep your pets safely indoors. The noises really
00:42do aggravate a lot of pets. There's some cool tech saws for this. If you have a pet that you know
00:49is afraid of thunder, they're probably going to be afraid of fireworks too. And there's
00:53things called thunder shirts that you can look into that can really help make your pet feel more
01:00comfortable. If you can be with your pet during the 4th of July celebrations, that really is the
01:05best thing for you to do. And even cats can also be afraid. So just making sure that they have access
01:11to the things that make them feel comfortable, their beds. If you are going out and leaving your
01:16pet at home, keep your pet inside. And we know some pets, they can also be scared during this time.
01:22Others may come to you for attention. How do you prepare and what's kind of the best thing? I feel
01:27like holidays people are going in and outdoors so it can be easy for pets to escape.
01:31It can. And so just use some extra diligence when you're, you know, if you're going outside or if you
01:37have small children, now is the time to remind everybody. Like we want to make sure we keep our
01:43pets inside. We don't want to make them afraid of the fireworks. And so just reminding everybody in
01:49the household, the importance, if you have a pet door, um, close it. My, I had one dog actually who
01:55during a firework display, we were home, but she got so nervous. She actually tried to leave the
02:01house through the pet door and got stuck. It was the cat door. It was not her door. She was a big dog
02:06and her head actually got stuck in the pet door. So if you have a pet door, shut it.
02:11And you were talking about the dangers of heat and pets. What are some of the warning signs that you
02:19should look for in your pet when they're getting overheated?
02:24Yes. Well, they typically do pant a lot and always, if you're walking in hot weather, take water with you.
02:32Some great advice there as we continue to talk about the heat. And of course, we know that, uh,
02:37there's a lot of, uh, a lot of ways that you can help your pets this summer, trying to stay cool.
02:42Holly Sizemore, chief mission officer at Best Friends Animal Society. Thank you again so much for
02:48joining us this morning. Thank you. Take care.
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