Hello again, beautiful people! As usual, here we are to share some thoughts that will hopefully help your fur babies in one way or another. This weekend is a special weekend! Not only we will be celebrating a very important holiday for our country — July 4th —we will also be able to share it with our loved ones in person, as many of us have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, and many others continue to get the vaccine. But we may have forgotten what some of these festivities look like, so hopefully I can remind everyone of some important things to remember to keep our fur kids are safe and sound.

If you are like me, good food has to be readily available at all times during a holiday. This also means that our dogs and cats are ready to snatch up any food that is dropped or that may be offered to them (unless they steal it before someone offers them anything!). So make sure you put your babies away when guests are at your home and even when you are prepping food, as this can avoid many issues.

Some animals can eat a thing or two and be OK. But some may develop diarrhea and/orvomiting, and some can even end up needing to go to an emergency hospital with major issues caused by eating people food. It is vital that our fur babies stay away from all of these goodies at all times.

Speaking of goodies, for those of you who enjoy what the plant world has to offer, it is even more vital to keep our babies away. They can get easily intoxicated, and, trust me, it will not be fun for them.

There often is a pool or lake involved in our 4th of July gatherings. While this sounds really fun, please be careful with the fur kids. They can get really hot outside and can even suffer from heat stroke. This is more of a concern with the pups that have a thicker hair coat or have flat faces (brachycephalic breeds).

If you are at a lake, also be aware that they have potential access to wildlife, which can be dangerous by itself, and our pets can have contact with feces or urine from wildlife, which can transmit many parasites and diseases. I recommend you have a consultation with your veterinarian to determine what your baby may need prior to any planned trips to make sure they are fully protected and as healthy as possible.

Try to imagine a 4th of July without fireworks. It didn’t work, right? As much as we love fireworks, most of our pets despise them. If you were a dog or a cat and you heard “explosions,” how would you feel? It would be terrifying!

Even though we cannot stop everyone from using fireworks, we can at least do our best to accommodate our pets by trying some basic things. For example, I recommend putting pets in a room where, hopefully, they won’t hear the outside noise as much, and consider having some white noise in that room as well. You can also give them their favorite treat or toy to distract them from the outside world.

I would also recommend considering some calming supplements, which you can discuss with your veterinarian to see what he/she/they may recommend. Sometimes these may not be enough, and you may have to consider prescribed “chill pills.” If your baby gets extremely stressed out, I would strongly recommend discussing this option with your veterinarian.

If your dog or cat is in a safe and enclosed environment, you may also be able to prevent the sad but not so rare occurrence of a pet escaping home when all these loud noises are happening. Still, it is important to be as prepared as possible. Consider having your dog or cat microchipped and also putting a collar with an ID tag around their necks. There are some tags that have GPS, so these may be an option for some parents.

In the end though, I strongly believe that keeping your beloved fur kids in a quiet, calm room will potentially save you many headaches.

I hope everyone has a safe, AMAZING and joyful time celebrating our independence. Please be safe, and always try to be nice to those around you. Happy Birthday, USA!!! Abrazos para todos!

Dr. Josh owns Isla Veterinary Boutique Hospital at 14380 Marsh Lane, Ste. 110 in Addison (next to Tom Thumb). Call him at 972-738-1111 or visit IslaVet.com.