Thursday, July 4, 2013

DON’T FORGET YOUR PETS THIS 4TH OF JULY!



Follow these suggestions to keep your pets safe and healthy this 4th of July!

BE CONSIDERATE OF YOUR PETS DURING FIREWORKS.
 Fireworks are fun and beautiful to the eye for humans, but for pets, it's nothing but a lot of loud, scary noise! Keep your pets indoors and in a secure area during the display.  If you have a crate, this would be the safest place and maybe some background music in the room to block out the noise of the fireworks.  More pets are lost this day than any other day of the year.

HOW CAN YOU HAVE FUN WITH YOUR PET THIS 4TH? 
Take Fido on a long walk that morning, or spend some extra play time with Fluffy. They'll enjoy the extra attention!

During the festivities, remind your guests not to feed the pets people food and when the time comes for the big show, make sure your pets have identification on them and are micro chipped, and are tucked away safe and sound in a crate or quiet room. Give them additional distractions too, like a radio playing some soothing music or a Kong toy with some peanut butter (we like to put the peanut butter in the Kong and freeze it the night before. It'll take Fido longer to get the peanut butter out!).

IF YOUR PET GETS LOST:
  • Call your local police station to file a lost report. Ask them to keep a lookout in your area.
  • Call your local rescues and shelters. If you live near an animal control facility, visit there every day to look for your pet. You can get listings of your local shelters at petfinder.com
  • Hang fliers with a big picture of your pet, the location your pet was lost in and the dates/he went missing. Put a flier in your mailbox so your local post person can keep a look out, too!
LOCAL LOST AND FOUND DOG INFO:
  • Bring dog to vet for free microchip check! It is for the finder!!  Make sure the phone #s on your microchip are up to date. 
  •  A RABIES TAG has phone # for you to call to find owner.
  • Ask children in the neighborhood if they know where the dog lives. Kids know where dogs live in a neighborhood. Give people who walk their dogs your fliers.
  •  Ask your mail carrier.
  • There are many things you can do to draw your pet back.
  • Some of the best information for locating lost/missing pets is at http://www.missingpetparntership.com/ - Has some good advice for missing pet behavior, when and how to look, and other ways to help locate pets.
  • Post to Lafayette Animal Control Center Lost and Found. Google: Lafayette Animal Control Center Lost and Found
  • Visit Lafayette Animal Control Center – 291-5644
  •  Post on Facebook:
    • Lost and Found Pets Acadiana
    •  LACC VOLUNTEERS LOST AND FOUND PETS 
    • Your own Facebook of course.
Info provided by www.arfla.org