4th of July takes toll on dogs, animal shelters at capacity

We love festive fireworks shows, but our pets? Not so much.

The loud noise can be so scary, many dogs run away from home. Now at least one local shelter says it's swamped with pets that were lost over the holiday weekend.

Not long after the twinkling sparks faded, the phones started ringing at Detroit Dog Rescue.

"The 4th of July has really taken a toll on a lot of dogs in Detroit and the suburbs," said Kristina Rinaldi, Detroit Dog Rescue.

Jelly Bean here is living proof - found wandering in the Fenton area. Rinaldi said this past weekend has been the worst in terms of lost dogs in recent memory. Shelters are at or over capacity.

"We are at almost 100 dogs," said Rinaldi.

That is 30 more than a typical day, with more coming in.

"They went down the street, and then took cover and a lot of times and sometimes they will stay there for a couple days," Rinaldi said.

Even the tamest dog can be spooked by the boom associated with the celebration - and time is of the essence.

"The reality is, once the dog hits the shelter system, a lot of them don't go back home," Rinaldi said.

Let's say you lost your dog well the first call should be to your local animal shelter. By law they have 4 days to hold that dog and 7 days of there is an id like a collar.

After that, the dog could be adopted out. On the flip side - "It is state law that you have to call animal control 48 hours after you find a lost dog," Rinaldi said.

At the Detroit Dog Rescue, they are urging people to make sure to keep dogs inside during the celebration next year and hopefully keep families together at the same time.