DENVER — Like many local shelters, the Denver Animal Shelter is short on extra space on an average day. The Fourth of July holiday, however, is hardly average.
"Even before the Fourth, people start setting off fireworks and it's generally a scary experience for dogs. They can react poorly to it and run away," said Lieutenant Josh Rolfe with Denver Animal Protection.
He said intakes and calls for service increase about 15% between July 3 to 5 compared to typical days. In 2022, the shelter took in 25 stray dogs over those three days and had 126 total calls for service. In 2023, those numbers increased to 32 dogs and 201 calls.
"Any increase in volume into the animal shelter is going to put a strain on our resources," said Lt. Rolfe. "We need to be thinking about what we're going to do to make sure our animals are safe and secure in our homes and not exposed to situations where they could get loose."
Many pet parents are being proactive.
"For the past week, we've been getting quite a few requests [for sedatives] in," said Dr. Emily McDowell of 5280 Veterinary Care.
Even if a pet owner doesn't choose medication to calm down a sound-sensitive pet, there are things McDowell recommends to keep your dog calm.
"If you're able to be home with your pet, that's the best. You can tire them out during the day, see if that helps a little bit, too. Then when nighttime comes, if they do seem like they're a little more reactive, put them in a nice, dark, enclosed room. You can even play some music or some, like, white noise to help drown out the sound," she said.
It's important to make sure your dog's microchip is up to date and they're wearing their collar with tags in case they run away. If you happen to find a lost dog over the next several days, leave it to the professionals.
"There's a lot of people who want to do good, who consider themselves animal people. But loose animals, generally — especially during this time — they're scared. Getting out to approach them on your own might be a bad call because the animal might react out of fear in a poor way," said Lt. Rolfe. "The best bet is to call people that can assist to help safely capture that animal, especially if it's near a busy intersection or something like that. You don't want to startle the animal into traffic."
Many shelters keep updated Lost & Found pages of the stray animals they intake, including:
- Aurora Animal Shelter
- Denver Animal Shelter
- Dumb Friends League
- Foothills Animal Shelter
- Humane Society of the South Platte Valley
- Humane Society of Boulder Valley
- Maxfund Animal Adoption Center
