Happy Fourth Of July – Keep Your Pets Safe!

Did you know the Fourth Of July is the biggest day of the year that pets get lost?

The animals shelters receive the most lost and scared pets on the Fourth Of July than any other day of the year.

Please keep your pets safe at home and read our blog to make sure you are doing everything for your pet’s safety:

• Don’t leave your pets outside. Even if your pet is used to being outside, the loud noises from fireworks may make them break free from their restraint or jump the fence if they are trying to find safety from the noise.
• Keep alcohol away from pets. Pets can become dangerously intoxicated, go into a coma or even die from respiratory failure.
• Leave your pet at home if going to watch fireworks. The combination of too many people and loud fireworks will cause your pet to freak out and do anything they can to seek shelter. Do not lock them in the car either!
• Microchip your pet and make sure he or she has ID tags. If your pet does manage to get loose, an ID tag with your name and phone number on it will help your dog find his way back home. You also want to make sure your pet is micro-chipped.
• Never use fireworks around your pet. Lit fireworks will not only scare your pet but they can cause severe burns, trauma to the face or paws and even death. They also contain toxic substances even when unused.
• Don’t feed your pet from the table. Avoid giving your pet table food while you are barbequing or enjoying a backyard party. Onions, coffee, avocado, grapes, raisins, salt and more are all hazardous to your pets.
• Oils, citronella candles, insect coils and other insect repellant products are toxic to your pet. Inhaling these toxins can result in respiratory illness such as pneumonia and indigestion which can harm your pet’s nervous system.

What do you do to keep your pet safe and secure on the Fourth? Comment on our blog.

7 Ways To Keep Your Pets Safe On The Fourth Of July

Pet safety for the Fourth of July.

The Fourth of July is a lot of fun but to your pets it can be a very scary time. This is the biggest time of the year that pets go missing and it is usually because of the loud noise of fireworks that scares them off.

Please keep these helpful tips in mind to keep your pets safe this holiday:

1. Keep your pets indoors at all times. Even if your pet is used to being outside, the loud noises from fireworks may make them break free from their restraint or jump the fence if they are trying to find safety from the noise.
2. Don’t let your pet drink alcohol. Pets can become dangerously intoxicated, go into a coma or even die from respiratory failure.
3. Leave your pet at home if going to watch fireworks. The combination of too many people and loud fireworks will cause your pet to freak out and do anything they can to seek shelter. Do not lock them in the car either!
4. Ensure your pet is properly identified. If your pet does manage to get loose, an ID tag with your name and phone number on it will help your dog find his way back home. You also want to make sure your pet is micro-chipped.
5. Never use fireworks around your pet. Lit fireworks will not only scare your pet but they can cause severe burns, trauma to the face or paws and even death. They also contain toxic substances even when unused.
6. Avoid giving your pet table food while you are barbequing or enjoying a backyard party. Onions, coffee, avocado, grapes, raisins, salt and more are all hazardous to your pets.
7. Oils, citronella candles, insect coils and other insect repellant products are toxic to your pet. Inhaling these toxins can result in respiratory illness such as pneumonia and indigestion which can harm your pet’s nervous system.

Do you have any tips to keeping your pets safe on the Fourth of July? Please comment on our blog!

5 Myths You May Not Have Known About The 4th Of July

5 Myths About the 4th of July.

Check out these 5 Fourth of July Myths you probably didn’t know.  Happy Fourth of July!

1. Independence was declared on the Fourth of July.

America’s independence from Great Britain was actually declared by the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. That’s why John Adams thought July 2 was going to be the day future Americans celebrated.

On the night of July 2nd, the Pennsylvania Evening Post published the statement: “This day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States.”

So what happened on the Glorious Fourth?

The document justifying the act of Congress — you know it as Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence — was adopted on the Fourth, as is indicated on the document itself, which is, one supposes, the cause for all the confusion. As one scholar has observed, what has happened is that the document announcing the event has overshadowed the event itself.

When did Americans first celebrate independence? Congress waited until July 8, when Philadelphia threw a big party, including a parade and the firing of guns. The army under George Washington, then camped near New York City, heard the news July 9 and celebrated then. Georgia got the word Aug. 10. And when did the British in London finally get wind of the declaration? Aug. 30.

John Adams, writing a letter home to his beloved wife Abigail on July 3, predicted that from then on:

“the Second of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”

A scholar coming across this document in the 19th century quietly “corrected” the document, with Adams predicting the festival would take place not on the second but the fourth.

2. The Declaration of Independence was signed July 4.

Hanging in the grand Rotunda of the Capitol of the United States is a vast canvas painting by John Trumbull depicting the signing of the Declaration.

Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams wrote, years afterward, that the signing ceremony took place on July 4. When someone challenged Jefferson’s memory in the early 1800’s, Jefferson insisted he was right.

Really? As David McCullough remarks in his biography of John Adams, “No such scene, with all the delegates present, ever occurred at Philadelphia.”

So when was it signed?

Most delegates signed the document on Aug. 2, when a clean copy was finally produced by Timothy Matlack, assistant to the secretary of Congress; some waited even later to sign, and the names on the docment were made public only in January 1777.

Years later Jefferson offered details of the event — even “remembering” flies circling above the signers — but, since he was wrong about the date, he probably was about the flies, too.

The truth about the signing was established in 1884 when historian Mellon Chamberlain, researching the manuscript minutes of the journal of Congress, came upon the entry for Aug. 2 noting a signing ceremony.

As for Benjamin Franklin’s statement, “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately” … well, there’s no proof he ever made it.

3. The Liberty Bell rang in American Independence.

The story goes like this: A boy with blond hair and blue eyes was posted next to Independence Hall to give a signal to an old man in the bell tower when independence was declared. When the signal was given, the Liberty Bell was rung.

Except for this: It never happened.

The story was concocted in the middle of the 19th century by writer George Lippard in a book intended for children. The book was aptly titled, “Legends of the American Revolution.” There was no pretense that the story was genuine.

The bell was not even named in honor of American independence. It received the moniker in the early 19th century when abolitionists used it as a symbol of the antislavery movement.

The famous crack? The bell cracked because it was badly designed.

The Liberty Bell can be viewed in all of its glory in Philadelphia, where it is displayed in a glass chamber in the appropriately named Liberty Bell Center on Market Street. Available are a video presentation and exhibits about the bell, “focusing on its origins and its modern day role as an international icon of freedom,” as the Web site about the center says.

4. Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag.

The story goes like this: George Washington himself asked Betsy to stitch the first flag. He wanted six point stars; Betsy told him that five point stars were easier to cut and stitch. The general relented.

Except that it is bogus

A few blocks away from the Liberty Bell is the Betsy Ross House. And every year crowds still come to gawk: behind a wall of Plexiglas, a Betsy Ross mannequin sits in a chair sewing the first flag.

But there is no proof Betsy lived here, as the Joint State Government Commission of Pennsylvania concluded in a study in 1949. And the flag story was made up in the 19th century by Betsy’s descendants.

The real Betsy Ross was an unheralded seamstress. Her bones, which had lain in a colonial graveyard for 150 years, were dug up so she could be buried again beneath a huge sarcophagus located on the grounds of the house she was never fortunate enough to have lived in.

Who sewed the first flag? No one knows. But we do know who designed it. It was Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration.

Records show that in May 1780 he sent a bill to the Board of Admiralty for designing the “flag of the United States.” A small group of descendants works hard to keep his name alive.

Just down the street from Betsy’s house is Christ Church Burial Ground, where Benjamin Franklin is buried and Hopkinson is too, along with three other Declaration signers: Dr. Benjamin Rush, Joseph Hewes and George Ross.

5. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the Fourth of July.

Okay, so this really happened. But the well-known story isn’t all true.

On July 4, 1826, Adams, the second president, and Jefferson, the third president, both died, exactly 50 years after the adoption of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. The country took it as a sign of American divinity.

But there is no proof to the long-told story that Adams, dying, uttered, “Jefferson survives,” which was said to be especially poignant, as Jefferson had died just hours before without Adams knowing it. Mark that as just another story we wished so hard were true we convinced ourselves it is.

By the way, James Monroe, our fifth president, died on July 4, 1831. And Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president, was born on July 4, 1872.

Have a Happy Fourth!

From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/top-5-myths-about-july-4/2011/07/03/AGe6YmwH_blog.html

Keep Your Pet Safe On The 4th Of July!

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th is a time to spend outdoors with family and friends enjoying the wonderful country we live in.  It is important to also keep in mind this can be a scary time for your pets and you should make sure your pet is safe and happy for the holiday.

Check out our 4th of July animal safety tips from the SPCA:

For many people, nothing beats lounging in the backyard on the Fourth of July with good friends and family—including the four-legged members of the household.

While it may seem like a great idea to reward Rover with scraps from the grill and bring him along to watch fireworks, in reality some festive foods and products can be potentially hazardous to your pets. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center offers the following tips:

• Never leave alcoholic drinks unattended where pets can reach them. Alcoholic beverages have the potential to poison pets. If ingested, the animal could become very intoxicated and weak, severely depressed or could go into a coma. Death from respiratory failure is also a possibility in severe cases.
• Do not apply any sunscreen or insect repellent product to your pet that is not labeled specifically for use on animals. Ingestion of sunscreen products can result in drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst and lethargy. The misuse of insect repellent that contains DEET can lead to neurological problems.
• Always keep matches and lighter fluid out of your pets’ reach. Certain types of matches contain chlorates, which could potentially damage blood cells and result in difficulty breathing—or even kidney disease in severe cases. Lighter fluid can be irritating to skin, and if ingested can produce gastrointestinal irritation and central nervous system depression. If lighter fluid is inhaled, aspiration pneumonia and breathing problems could develop.
• Keep your pets on their normal diet. Any change, even for one meal, can give your pets severe indigestion and diarrhea. This is particularly true for older animals who have more delicate digestive systems and nutritional requirements. And keep in mind that foods such as onions, chocolate, coffee, avocado, grapes & raisins, salt and yeast dough can all be potentially toxic to companion animals.
• Do not put glow jewelry on your pets, or allow them to play with it. While the luminescent substance contained in these products is not highly toxic, excessive drooling and gastrointestinal irritation could still result from ingestions, and intestinal blockage could occur from swallowing large pieces of the plastic containers.
• Keep citronella candles, insect coils and oil products out of reach. Ingestions can produce stomach irritation and possibly even central nervous system depression. If inhaled, the oils could cause aspiration pneumonia in pets.
• Never use fireworks around pets! While exposure to lit fireworks can potentially result in severe burns and/or trauma to the face and paws of curious pets, even unused fireworks can pose a danger. Many types contain potentially toxic substances, including potassium nitrate, arsenic and other heavy metals.
• Loud, crowded fireworks displays are no fun for pets, so please resist the urge to take them to Independence Day festivities. Instead, keep your little guys safe from the noise in a quiet, sheltered and escape-proof area at home.