© 2024 Hawaiʻi Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Here's how to protect your pets during Hawaiʻi's booming NYE fireworks

Adriana Morales
/
Pixabay

New Year's Eve celebrations in Hawaiʻi can be epic, packed with close friends, family, great food and spectacular fireworks shows.

It can also be a traumatizing event for pets. The loud, explosive sounds from firecrackers and aerials that have been going off in some neighborhoods since Halloween have spooked cats and dogs, causing many families to report missing pets as a result.

With New Year's Eve approaching, many pet owners are reaching out across social media for ways to keep their pets safe during the noisy festivities.

The Conversation's Russell Subiono talked to Thomas Hanns from the Hawaiian Humane Society Thursday morning.

Hanns said that these loud noises can cause dogs of all sizes to act 'erratically'.

"Sometimes they'll run away to try and find a safe space. Sometimes they'll bury themselves further into your home to be safer or come to you for comfort," he said.

Certain steps can be taken to prevent or lessen this behavior in pets. Hanns suggested not leaving your animals outside unattended and turning on the television to a normal level to provide them with companionship.

In the instance that they do escape, the Humane Society recommends always having proper identification on them — or even better, a microchip.

"The microchip implant will help to reunite you with your pet faster if it is found," Hanns said. "The microchip implant holds a serial number where they were able to look in an online database and get your contact information."

He said that before using medications or naturalistic oils, such as CBD, owners should refer to their veterinarians first.

"The thing about pets is they don't understand that this is a celebratory firework," he said. "It's a loud, scary noise. And so from that perspective, it can cause a lot of anxiety."

For more information from the Hawaiian Human Society, click here.

This interview aired on The Conversation on Dec. 29, 2022. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.

Russell Subiono is the executive producer of The Conversation and host of HPR's This Is Our Hawaiʻi podcast. Born in Honolulu and raised on Hawaiʻi Island, he’s spent the last decade working in local film, television and radio. Contact him at talkback@hawaiipublicradio.org.
Related Stories