Pets and fireworks: How to keep your animals calm and safe on July 4

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Updated 10:13 AM ET, Sun July 4, 2021

Animals shelters across the United States are emptying out thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, as people stuck at home are fostering or adopting animals. The Hillery family adopted Mase the pit bull from the San Diego Humane Society.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
Animals shelters across the United States are emptying out thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, as people stuck at home are fostering or adopting animals. The Hillery family adopted Mase the pit bull from the San Diego Humane Society.
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Adam Bohn, a junior mechanical engineering student at Iowa State University, plays with Aries, a 1.5-year-old domestic shorthair cat before adopting him."It was getting lonely at home," Bohn said.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
Adam Bohn, a junior mechanical engineering student at Iowa State University, plays with Aries, a 1.5-year-old domestic shorthair cat before adopting him."It was getting lonely at home," Bohn said.
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Dogs awaiting adoption or foster care crowd together together inside a doghouse at a Hong Kong Dog Rescue homing center. Shelters in Hong Kong reported that a higher-than-average number were adopted in March.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
Dogs awaiting adoption or foster care crowd together together inside a doghouse at a Hong Kong Dog Rescue homing center. Shelters in Hong Kong reported that a higher-than-average number were adopted in March.
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Lachlan Vaughan-Taylor (center) and his partner (left) admire Pippa, a blind cat they adopted at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Shelter and Veterinary Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
Lachlan Vaughan-Taylor (center) and his partner (left) admire Pippa, a blind cat they adopted at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Shelter and Veterinary Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
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Amy Tran (left) and her daughter Serene Ho cuddle their newly adopted dog Pepper in a dog park at Kai Tak Runway Park in Hong Kong.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
Amy Tran (left) and her daughter Serene Ho cuddle their newly adopted dog Pepper in a dog park at Kai Tak Runway Park in Hong Kong.
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The San Diego Humane Society's Nina Thompson holds a kitten at the kitten nursery in San Diego, California.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
The San Diego Humane Society's Nina Thompson holds a kitten at the kitten nursery in San Diego, California.
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Honeysuckle the dog gets ready for a foster home at Animal Rescue New Orleans in Louisiana.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
Honeysuckle the dog gets ready for a foster home at Animal Rescue New Orleans in Louisiana.
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Morgan Miller (left) and Sarah Chan (right) play with Silvia, age 6, in their apartment in San Diego's Pacific Beach neighborhood.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
Morgan Miller (left) and Sarah Chan (right) play with Silvia, age 6, in their apartment in San Diego's Pacific Beach neighborhood.
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A dog that has been adopted but not yet taken to its new home was one of the few animals left at the Humane Society of Westchester in New Rochelle, New York, in late March.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
A dog that has been adopted but not yet taken to its new home was one of the few animals left at the Humane Society of Westchester in New Rochelle, New York, in late March.
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Layla the dog waits at Animal Rescue New Orleans as her paperwork is completed. She's heading to a new foster home.
Photos: People are fostering and adopting pets during the pandemic
Layla the dog waits at Animal Rescue New Orleans as her paperwork is completed. She's heading to a new foster home.
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(CNN)We may find fireworks beautiful and festive, but they explode like magnified gunfire in the exquisitely sensitive ears of many of our pets.

Measuring between 150 and 175 decibels, fireworks are louder than many planes at takeoff (about 140 decibels). Decibels measure the loudness of a sound while hertz measure the frequency of a sound.
The benefits of owning a pet -- and the surprsing science behind it
The benefits of owning a pet -- and the surprsing science behind it
Human ears are damaged at a mere 85 decibels. Yet we can hear to only about 20,000 hertz, while dogs can hear between 45,000 and 65,000 hertz. Just think of the physical and emotional damage that might occur to a dog left outside to face the noise.
    Not to mention that when frightened, dogs bolt, and owners may lose their best friends in the night.
      "Dogs have been known to dig under or jump over fences, break tethers or even shatter windows in response to their fireworks fears," according to Best Friends Animal Society, one of the nation's oldest no-kill agencies.
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        That leaves dogs running loose, possibly to be struck by cars, picked up by strangers, even turned into local animal shelters, which may still have limited hours due to the pandemic. Anxious pet owners may face barriers in identifying and rescuing their pet.

        Danger to all types of pets