Pets are petrified by pyrotechnics

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | 9:56 a.m.

For his first Fourth of July, 1-year-old Shadow Rojas joined his family on the small balcony of their Henderson home to watch the fireworks, cuddled in Miggie Rojas' lap for safety.

"There was some barking, some crying," Rojas said of her white, miniature schnauzer's reaction to the pyrotechnic displays. "The fireworks were pretty loud, but he did better than I expected."

Not all Henderson pets were as fortunate as Shadow. At the city's animal shelter Tuesday, 70 of the 72 dog kennels were occupied, many by frightened runaways who had fled from the explosions of Independence Day revelers.

Some of the dogs were collected by animal control officers, others brought in by good Samaritans who found them on their own property or wandering the neighborhood.

The phone at the shelter has been "ringing off the hook" with calls from frantic owners searching for their pets, Gary Weddle, the shelter's administrator, said.

By 11 a.m. there had already been a half-dozen happy reunions. But there were also two calls to families letting them know their dogs had been struck by cars and killed, Weddle said.

While many cats are also frightened by fireworks, people are less likely to catch stray felines and bring them to the shelter, Weddle said.

"Cats tend to find a hiding place and then head back home" provided they aren't hit by a car or killed by another animal in the meantime, Weddle said.

People may not realize the effect fireworks have on their pets because they're not home to see it firsthand.

"Everybody's outside watching the celebration while their dogs are home alone remodeling the house," Weddle said. "We've had dogs who chewed through doors, that's how frightened they were."

With the Henderson shelter five times busier than the usual summer weekday, Weddle said he hoped the majority of Tuesday's temporary guests would be back home soon.

Henderson residents seeking missing pets are advised to visit the shelter, located at 390 W. Athens Ave., between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Workers at the Animal Foundation's Lied Animal Shelter, which serves unincorporated Clark County, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas were scrambling Tuesday to handle several dozen dogs, about twice as many as on a normal day, officials said. Located at 650 N. Mojave Road, the shelter is slowly expanding its facilities but currently there is little room to spare, said Diane Orgill, the foundation's president.

By early afternoon Tuesday 14 dogs had already gone home with their owners, but dozens more were still waiting. Animal control officers were being kept busy answering calls to pick up stray dogs, some of which were injured.

"They cut their faces and their paws digging under walls, climbing over fences because they just panicked," Orgill said. "Their senses are so much stronger than ours. The powder smell, the flashes of light, they have no idea what it is. All they want to do is get away."

Typically, just 11 percent of pets that wind up at the shelter are ever retrieved by their owners, Orgill said. Dogs and cats that are not claimed within 72 hours are spayed or neutered and may be put up for adoption, Orgill said.

The foundation recommends people leave their pets at home indoors during fireworks displays. All pets, even those who don't normally venture outside, should have a collar with an ID tag, Orgill said.

As for Miggie Rojas, watching the fireworks from home with Shadow will likely become an annual tradition.

"We'll never leave him alone on the Fourth of July with so much noise," Rojas said. "He's our baby."