To prepare for the Fourth of July, the Hawaiian Humane Society has various safeguards to protect the animals in its care, including spraying stress-reducing pheromones in the kennels ahead of the holiday.
"It's a great measure to take as kind of a preventative measure," Hawaiian Humane Society’s Brandy Shimabukuro said Monday.
The crew also puts sound dampeners and shades to minimize the sights and sounds of the day, and plays with the animals just a little bit more.
"We also have lots of mental enrichment, we have our cat enrichment coordinator who goes around and creates games earlier in the day for our cat population so that they're a little more mentally and physically worn out by the end of the day so that they can hopefully sleep through the firework sounds," Shimabukuro said.
The new Kosasa Family Campus at Hoʻopili has been outfitted with a speaker system that will play light classical music during peak firework times to keep animals calm.
"We pipe through some kind of relaxing, classical music," Shimabukuro said. "It's a nice way again, to drown out the sound of the fireworks."
Shimabukuro said the best place for pets is indoors, and suggested families try playing music for their animals.
"Illegal fireworks are loud, amplified sound explosions," she said.
"Even a car backfiring can be a really traumatic experience for animals, because their hearing is really keen, right? Everything is amplified for them, so while it might be loud for us, it could be overwhelming for them, especially because they have a lack of understanding knowing what's happening."
Often, an instinctual fight or flight response can be triggered.
Shimabukuro said microchipping with up-to-date contact information should be done in advance of each holiday.
The Humane Society will be closed for Independence Day, but admissions staff will be on hand for emergencies.
