Simple tips to take precautions:
• More Play Means More Sleep – If you have a growing puppy or an energetic adult, play a little extra during the day so your pooch sleeps during the evening when crackers are on full throttle. Use interactive toys to make sure your pooch plays more, enjoys more and sleeps more to avoid all the clatter.
• Take dogs for a walk during the daytime before the celebrations begin. Never walk them near where others are lighting firecrackers.
• Store fireworks safely in a closed box, somewhere cool and dry, and out of reach of pets. Do not keep fireworks containers under stairs or exposed in passages.
• Consult a veterinarian if pets are prone to acute anxiety or distress from loud noises. Check their availability during Diwali in case of emergency.
• Keep your pets indoors and in a familiar room. Pets have a heightened sense of hearing so the jolts and loud noises cause many animals to flee in search of a safe haven.
• Keep all doors and windows closed and draw the curtains to reduce the noise. Supply pets with enough food and water and ensure someone can stay with them to comfort them.
• Music Therapy: Nothing’s better than a nice soothing track played loud enough to overlap the noise outside. Go for an instrumental number. Acoustic guitar tunes, simple piano tracks and mild harmonica melodies are known to calm dogs down and stimulate sleep.
• Decorate with lights, lamps and diyas that are friendlier to the environment and animals by giving off less smoke and noise.
• Refrain from bursting crackers near an animal shelter or zoo. Noise can cause panic and fear. Pollution from burning firecrackers is also harmful to their health.
• If you feed stray animals around your neighbourhood, make sure that they are wearing tags labelled with their names and your phone numbers. In case they run away because of the merry-making, people who find them will be able to contact you.
• Make a first aid kit in preparation for helping injured animals. Have a bucket full of water handy for emergency and for putting used sparklers into.
• Ensure pets are wearing collars and identification tags with current contact information. All pets, even those kept indoors, should wear collars with identification tags at all times.
• Keep contact information for local municipal corporations and surrounding shelters handy and approach them immediately in cases of lost pets. If you find a lost pet, either take her to the address on the tag or a local animal shelter.
• Finally, do not leave burnt sticks lying on the road or the terrace as they may be consumed by stray cats and dogs or birds, leading to their death. You surely do not want to start the day after the festival by taking someone else’s life.
