The Animal Rescue League of Marshalltown said they see an uptick in lost pets and stray animals during the time of the holiday due to loud noises caused by the explosion of fireworks.

Owner and veterinarian at The Hometown Veterinarian in Marshalltown Grant Jacobson sees an increase in clients asking for anti-anxiety medication for their pets during the fireworks season.

Jacobson feels he has seen more awareness for pet’s well-being rise since the sale and possession of fireworks were made legal in Iowa in 2017, but the issue has always existed.

“I maybe have more people feeling aware of it or are thinking about it, but you know I’ve been practicing in Marshalltown since 1999, and every week about Fourth of July time there’s plenty of calls asking, ‘What can I do for my dog,'” Jacobson said.

Customers buy fireworks at a Bellino Fireworks stand in Marshalltown.

He said he has witnessed some direct consequences of fireworks affecting pets.

“One dog literally ran itself to death, panicking because the firework show went off and the dog took off and ran and ran and ran and ran until it dropped,” Jacobson said. “I also remember an emergency call where a dog took off running in fear and then got hit by a car, because he was running away from the fireworks and dashed across the road.”

He hasn’t seen as much inquiry about cats during the Fourth of July as he has for dogs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean fireworks do not cause issues for cats. One possible reason for the disparity he said is because dogs usually are going outside as a necessity while cats are typically fine existing inside. Many dogs are also scared of thunderstorms, which goes hand-in-hand with fireworks.

“I think a big part of it is there’s going to be no way for a dog to really understand what’s going on,” Jacobson said. “I think a lot of them are pretty convinced that they’re about to die right now because something horrible is happening and they don’t know what it is. They don’t have a way to rationalize it, where as humans we can be told, ‘Hey it’s just fireworks, it’s fine.'”

In the past couple years, he said the medication used to treat dogs experiencing anxiety due to loud noises has gotten more effective and become easier to administer. More traditional medications used in the past, such as mild tranquilizers, had some downsides.

“With those is you’d often have a dog that’s still terrified but just can’t do anything about it, so they’re laying there frightened out of their mind, but they’re just unable to do something so they’re going to be kind of be traumatized and likely be worse the next time something sets them off,” he said.

One of the popular anti-anxiety medications today is a paste put into the pet’s mouth meant to be calming.

“It kind of tones them down, so they’re not knocking them out, but they’re able to manage,” Jacobson said.

Executive Director of the Animal Rescue League of Marshalltown Mikaela Simpson has a handful of recommendations to reduce anxiety in pets and prevent pets from getting lost during the fireworks season.

She said the number one recommendation she has is updating a pet’s identification tag and microchip information, in case it does get lost. Another big recommendation is taking the pet for a walk outside to play before fireworks begin, so the pet may hopefully be calmer by dark when fireworks start.

Other recommendations include playing music for your pets, locking doors and fixing broken window screens, creating a safe and quiet place such as a crate or an open closet with blankets, distracting with toys or treats and contacting the veterinarian as soon as possible if the pet needs anti-anxiety medication.

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Contact Trevor Babcock at 641-753-6611 or tbabcock@timesrepublican.com.