Pets can be pretty sensitive to loud noises, and these noises can be particularly frightening when they don’t recognize the noise or understand where it’s coming from. At one point or another, you’ve probably seen your dog get spooked by a smoke alarm going off, or your cat run for cover when a car down the street blares its horn a little too loud.
But I’d say there’s no worse noise for our pets to experience than fireworks, because those things are loud .
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Most pets have owners there to comfort them when they get scared, but not all animals are this lucky.
One animal shelter in Phoenix, Arizona, recognizes that pets without owners are seriously lacking in the comfort department, and they know that the Fourth of July means frightening fireworks are imminent.
So, in an effort to comfort their collection of pets waiting to find their “furever” homes, the shelter is opening up their doors to the community and asking for any caring volunteers to come comfort some deserving pets.
Last year, Maricopa County Animal Care and Control created the experimental program “Calming the Canines.”
The MCACC invited the public to opt out of the usual Fourth of July festivities and instead spend the holiday with the shelter pets, keeping them company and keeping them calm as the inevitable slew of celebratory fireworks sounded in the sky.
Around 200 kindhearted people answered the shelter’s call and showed up to keep the skittish pets company.
Shelter staff provided the visitors with treats, toys, and games that they could use to help not only distract and comfort the pets, but also provide them with some much-needed attention. After all, these are animals who are largely kept isolated and alone inside cages. This event provided a fantastic opportunity to give them all the love they so desperately need and deserve.
Those who showed up truly did their part to keep these animals happy and distracted from the noise.
According to a Facebook post by volunteer Amy Engel, a swarm of community members showed up to spend hours with the caged dogs.
“Some people sang to them, some people read to them, some people just sat there and gave treats!”
“It was so awesome because the dogs absolutely love the attention and were focused on the people and not the fireworks going on outside.”
The event proved to be such a huge success that MCACC introduced it again when New Year’s Eve 2018 rolled around. They sent out another plea to their community, asking for volunteers to ring in 2019 with the animals and keep them calm while fireworks go off outside.
Unsurprisingly, people answered the call and swarmed the shelter once again, proving that there are some really, truly amazing people in the world.
Now, as Fourth of July approaches once again, the MCACC have announced the return of “Calming the Canines.”
They announced via their Facebook page that volunteers are once again invited to spend their Fourth of July at the shelter to “hang out with our animals in a quiet manner to help them get through noisy fireworks.”
The shelter is offering volunteers free food and promise a fun night for all those who come out to volunteer.
Judging from the comments the post has received, it looks like the shelter can expect lots of volunteers again with many expressing their excitement for the event and praising the shelter for hosting it.
This is a fantastic initiative that other shelters should consider following. Not only does it offer frightened pets the comfort they need to get through some scary bouts of fireworks, but it also gives them a night of love and attention. And who knows? Maybe some of them will even find their new family through the event. All in all, this is a fantastic program.
