WEST PALM BEACH, FL- (June 28, 2021) July is National Lost Pet Prevention Month and Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League wants to make sure your pets have a way to get back home if they get scared and run away during the July 4th holiday. Noisy fireworks can terrify pets and trigger an instinctive fight-or-flight response. Faced with repeated thundering explosives, fleeing is a natural reaction. In fact, Animal Control officials across the country report a 30% increase in lost pets each year between July 4th and 6th. July 5th is one of the busiest days of the year for shelters.

With more pets going missing around the 4th of July than any other time of the year, it is important to be prepared beforehand and help your pets stay safe and secure.

To help safeguard your pets, it is important to make sure your pet is microchipped. If your pet is already microchipped, please make sure your contact information is current and up to date with the microchip company. Microchipped pets have a much better chance of being reunited with their owners. Be sure to also keep a collar with ID tags on your pet and have current photos of your pet in case they go missing.

In addition to microchipping, Peggy Adams encourages you to follow some tips to make it a safe holiday for pets and people alike:

• When the fireworks start, keep pets confined indoors, in a windowless room if possible, and not in a crate. Animals have been known to leap through glass windows and even eat through crates, harming themselves, to get away from the noise of fireworks.


• Consider administering an anti-anxiety medication to your pet prior to festivities involving fireworks. Ask your veterinarian for their recommendation.


• If possible, stay with your pet during the fireworks. Your presence will soothe and reassure them, helping to keep stress low.


• Keep your pet from foraging through leftover picnic foods in the backyard. Corncobs, ribs, hot dogs, and other picnic fare can cause gastrointestinal distress to animals.


• Make sure gates stay closed in the yard. With holiday guests coming and going, it’s easy to leave one open long enough for a pet to slip away unseen.


• If multiple dogs from different households are present, monitor their play. Separate them as needed to avoid fights and injuries.


• If the party is at someone else’s house, keep your pet at home and inside. It can also help to create white noise by turning on the TV or radio, which can distract your pet from firework noise and help keep them calm.

To learn more about getting a microchip, updating your microchip information, or to file a lost pet report, please contact Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, located at 3200 N. Military Trail in West Palm Beach, FL., www.PeggyAdams.org or call 561.686.3663.

About Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League:

Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League saves more lives than any other rescue organization in Palm Beach County and provides critical services to more than 30,000 animals each year.

The Mission of the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League is to provide shelter to lost, homeless, and unwanted animals, to provide spay and neuter and other medical services for companion animals, and to care for, protect, and find quality homes for homeless and neglected companion animals, to advocate animal welfare, community involvement, and education to further the bond between people and animals.  Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity navigator, and is the first animal shelter in South Florida to become AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) accredited.  Peggy Adams is an independent nonprofit animal rescue organization operating continuously since 1925. For more information and to donate, please visit PeggyAdams.org

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Media Contact: Cara MacVane, Email; 561.685.2342

Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League Contact: Lauren Ellis, Email; (Office) 561.472.8845 / (Cell/Text) 267.767.8159