Some Safety Tips for the holiday weekend.

Fireworks safety tips:
• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
• Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before buying or using them.
• Avoid buying fireworks that come in brown paper packaging, as this can be a sign that the     fireworks were made for professional displays and could pose a danger to consumers.
• Adults should always supervise fireworks activities. Parents often don’t realize that there are many injuries from sparklers to children under five. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals.
• Um, never have any portion of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Move back a safe distance immediately after lighting.
• Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not fully detonated.
•Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
•Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire.
•Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers

7 Tips To Ease Your Pets’ Fireworks Fears
1. Leave Your pets at home and indoors.  Most pets are afraid of fireworks and may try to run away
2. Close all doors and windows and put on background music to muffle the sound.
3. Close curtains and blinds to block the flashing lights.
4. Be sure your pets are wearing identification tags or have microchips in case they do run away or get lost.
5. Try to distract your pet with chew toys and games, or play with another pet that does not share his fear.
6. If you have time, desensitization techniques with appropriate sound CD’s, such as thunder, fireworks, trains, sirens, etc. may help pets get used to the sounds at a lower volume, then as they become more comfortable, gradually increase the volume.
7. If your pet has noise phobias, speak to your vet about a natural homeopathic, non-sedating remedy such as HomeoPet Storm Stress to keep your pet calm during storm and fireworks seasons.  For more info, check out www.homeopet.com