Nearly 150 lost or stray pets came into San Diego Humane Society shelters over the Fourth of July holiday but only 33 had been reunited with owners as of Monday afternoon.
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To aid reunification efforts, the organization is waiving all reclaim fees through Tuesday.
Pets are more likely to go missing during the holiday after being spooked by fireworks, said Humane Society spokesperson Nina Thompson, adding that the best way to prevent that is to keep them indoors during the main firework celebration. However, she noted that fireworks neighbors set off can come as a surprise to even responsible pet owners.
“Today, we just had a family who reclaimed their German shepherd here, and they said, ‘But we have them in the yard, and we have a 6-foot fence, and we didn’t know he could jump that high,’” Thompson said. “It wasn’t the main fireworks that got him — it was one of those random fireworks later where he was outside of the yard.”
To prepare for the possibility that a pet might go missing, Thompson recommended making sure that pets are fitted with microchips and wear collars with identification tags.
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Last year, 253 stray pets came into the Humane Society’s local shelters between July 4 and July 7, and only 84 of those pets were reclaimed. For comparison, the organization typically takes in an average of 40 to 60 stray pets per day, according to Thompson.
Stray pets taken in by the nonprofit since July 4 of this year include 54 dogs, 11 cats, eight puppies, 23 kittens and one reptile.
The Humane Society urges people who lost their pets during Fourth of July celebrations to check the online list of found animals at sdhumane.org/lost or text “LOST” to 858-SAN-LOST for guidance.
Read more Photos: Reunited with furry friends
