Santa Barbara County Animal Services has tips on how to keep dogs safe on July 4.
The animal service center said each year hundreds of animals are lost as a result of noise from the holiday.
Here are their tips on how to keep your pet safe:
Make sure your pet is wearing a current license tag or has a microchip information. A license tag is how your animal can come back home.
Keep your pets inside. They said to set up a quiet spot in a windowless room or to keep them in a carrier or kennel.
Leave the TV or radio on as a distraction. The noise can help keep the pet calm.
Walk your dog before fireworks start. Getting your animal tired can help keep them calm.
Do not bring your animal to a fireworks display.
If your dog is noise sensitive, consider someone stays home with them.
"The biggest thing for pet owners is to establish a place where your pet is comfortable and they are calm and a lot of times that is in the inside of the house with the television or the radio on," said Stacy Silvia community outreach coordinator of Santa Barbara Community Animal Services. "Some sort of sound to kind of tone out the loud booms that are occurring outside."
If your dog still runs away after taking these precautions visit your local county animal services shelter.
