FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — There are two air and sea shows taking place in South Florida this month, one in Miami and one in Fort Lauderdale.
When it comes to humans, kids and adults go crazy watching the jets and the military formations, but it’s our pets that are driven crazy by the extra loud and scary sounds.
One of those pets is 6-year-old Bentley.
“He’s just the sweetest thing,” said owner Genine Blue. “He’s always been a really good dog, very personable, loves people.”
But the 70-pound goldendoodle does not like loud noises.
“Thunder, lightning, anything loud, car backfires, fireworks, any of that, he started like getting scared, shaking, you know hiding,” said Blue.
The Blue family lives in a high-rise on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.
The whole family loves time outside on the balcony, which has a stunning view.
“Last year we ended up going away for the weekend and taking him with us because we didn’t want to have to deal with all the planes from the air show,” said Blue.
Dr. Sagen Woolery, the medical director at Blue Pearl Pet Hospital in Fort Lauderdale has seen a huge increase in pet medical issues due to fireworks and sonic booms.
“The issue is not necessarily the sound itself, it’s the fear and the panic that the sound puts into animals, both pets and wildlife,” she said. “The most common things that were seeing here in the emergency room are things like animals that have been hit by a car because they panicked and they ran into traffic, were seeing animals that have some cardiac problems, were seeing animals go into seizures.”
And if the air show is loud for you, imagine how your dog feels.
A pup’s hearing is four times more sensitive than a human’s, and let’s not forget, there are usually a few days of the pilot’s practicing and then a few more days of the show event itself.
Pet anxiety can go as high as those planes.
“That stress is cumulative, so a one-time firework is going to be stressful for an animal, but five days of fireworks or sonic booms is exceedingly stressful, particularly in geriatric animals too,” said Woolery.
Some helpful tips to help keep your furry friends safe in these situations is to give your pet added comfort by swaddling them in a tight sweater or a t-shirt, that gives added security. Soft music always helps too.
And when those noises get way too loud, your best bet is to put your pets in a dark, quiet, windowless room, and if all else fails, call your vet for a prescription.
“While this is really fun for all of us to see and witness and we all enjoy celebrating, it’s not fun for animals,” said Woolery. “They don’t understand and it’s not an enjoyable experience for them.”
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