While the Fourth of July has come and gone, its lasting effects continue to affect animal shelters across the country. It is well known that fireworks tend to frighten animals due to the sudden loud sounds, vibrations, and bright flashes of light. Dogs and cats have a much broader range of frequencies that they can hear, so fireworks that are slightly inconvenient to us can be painfully loud to them. Furthermore, fireworks are unpredictable, going off at random intervals throughout the night. This only adds to the stress and fear that pets face during this time.
Exposure to these extremely loud sounds can initiate a fight or flight response, which can lead to unintended consequences. When combined with frequently open doors and unlocked gates due to the outdoor festivities, this combination provides pets with ample opportunity to escape. Furthermore, July marks the peak of puppy and kitten season, meaning that shelters already have an increased number of litters arriving every day. The surge in lost pets, combined with the increased number of puppies and kittens, quickly causes overflow at shelters.
While many of the dogs and cats that escape during the summer are typically reunited with their owners, shelters remain at full capacity. With the combined impact of lost animals and puppy and kitten season, many of these animals face euthanasia. However, there are several ways you can help combat this surge in shelter intake during their busiest time of year. Let’s break this down into three distinct categories: protecting your pet, opening your home to a new pet, and volunteering.
If you already own pets, then two critical methods to keep them safe during the summer are spaying or neutering and microchipping. Spaying and neutering pets is an important step in the prevention of unwanted litters. This is one of the most effective long-term solutions for preventing puppy and kitten season from overcrowding shelters. In addition, microchipping pets is a great way to reduce shelter stays and ensure that lost animals return home more quickly. It will also help prevent heartbreaking separations during one of the most stressful times of year for dogs and cats.
If you are willing to open your home to a new pet, then two options are fostering and adopting shelter animals. Fostering litters of puppies or kittens helps free up valuable space in shelters. It also reduces stress on older animals needing a break from the shelter environment. This is a great way to help shelters manage the overflow of animals during their most critical season. In addition, adopting shelter animals helps clear out space in shelters while also pairing incredible animals with loving families. Since the summer is such a crowded time for shelters, adoption fees are often reduced or waived, so this is the perfect opportunity to help out an animal in need of some love.
If you are unable to foster or adopt, but still want to help, then some options include volunteering, donating supplies, sharing adoption posts online, or financially supporting local shelters. Spreading awareness of these issues is the most important step in this process, and fostering and adoption plans are essential to prevent overcrowded shelters. Any form of help is greatly appreciated during this stressful time, so we at Race for Life Rescue encourage you to go out and make a difference in these animals’ lives!
