Love your country, love your dog: Keep pets safe over July 4
The pops and explosions, raucous block parties and other loud noises during holiday festivities can scare dogs into leaping over or digging under fences to escape the thunderous blasts, leading them to get lost or injured.
Many seasoned animal lovers know to keep their dogs inside, but many pets are still running away or getting killed by cars as they bolt blindly from the noise.
[...] they would challenge others to post a selfie or donate to the American Humane Association, best known for approving animal safety on TV and movie sets.
Whistle Labs Inc., a San Francisco-based maker of pet health and safety devices, is helping lead the campaign because "pets are members of the family, so experiencing only a few moments of loss is traumatic," even if they're found, company co-founder and CEO Ben Jacobs said.
Apps and online programs also actually locate lost dogs, ranging from GPS-enabled collars, which allow owners to track pets from their phones or computers, to apps such as Finding Rover, which uses facial recognition software to match photos of lost dogs to those in shelters.
The populations of many shelters will increase 30 percent over the holiday weekend, according to the animal safety group Found Animals.