Pet owners, attention!

The Fourth of July brings sharp, scary noises. Please make sure your phone number and address is current at your vet, on dog tags and with microchip contacts.

Find an enclosed, safe area with no windows to leave your pet while you’re away and especially during the weekends of the fireworks. It’s already going on where I live, a half-hour on June 11, so be aware.

As your pets get older they get more sensitive to sharp noises, so watch them closely.

Be ready to confine, possibly tranquilize, or even board, for the fireworks weekend, until after the Fourth. Many pets get lost on this holiday, they’re scared and confused.

Immediately hang signs, post notes on bulletin boards and the Internet, check the county pounds daily and leave your information with your city hall.

Also, if you’re lighting fireworks, be considerate of farmers and wildlife. Farm stock can be effected; chickens may stop laying, cows may stop giving milk and horses may break through fences. Deer and elk are birthing now, and may bolt away from babies.

Finally, our wet spring caused lots of underbrush. If it dries out before the Fourth, we’ll have an extremely dangerous situation.

Please find out what times are legal to ignite in your area. And please, just be careful and considerate of others. Don’t be a bonehead.

Mardel Chowen

South Prairie