Fireworks can unnerve dogs that end up in animal shelters. Athens foster program can help.

Kristall Barber grew up in Ohio where fireworks is a Fourth of July event, but upon moving to the South she discovered fireworks go blasting at almost all holidays from Memorial Day to Christmas.

As the director for Athens-Clarke County Animal Services, she knows that big bangs in the sky can be unnerving to animals like dogs.

That’s a big reason that the shelter takes in many more dogs around the holidays.

“We do see a higher increase of animals coming in and not just on July Fourth,” Barber said.

The increase of dogs at shelters is common in other cities. The Augusta Chronicle reported that almost 60 animals were brought to the Augusta Animal Shelter after the Fourth of July celebration in that city last year.

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Dogs running from homes on holidays may not just be from fireworks, but holidays draw more visitors to homes, she said, and some of those visitors may leave doors open that homeowners would usually keep closed for their pets.

The dogs at the animal services facility on Buddy Christian Road do hear more noise than usual because it is located near the airport and the police firing range. But the animals are contained there so an escape would be rare.

The big fireworks display for Athens takes place near the shelter and airport on Saturday evening, but some of the dogs will be relocated to private homes for the event.

Animals Services operates a foster program where people can register and take a dog to their home during the fireworks event. The dogs are picked up prior to the fireworks and will be returned on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Barber.

Many of the shelter’s dogs are already in foster care, but this program usually allows for about 20 more to get away for a few days. Not all dogs will find a foster home, so during the fireworks display, staff will stay on site to make sure the dogs are OK, according to Barber.

The foster program, she said, also allows the staff to learn something about the dog, such as how they react around kids, or other dogs or cats, and do they have any bad manners that the staff needs to work.

“It gives us a lot of information so when they come back, we can hopefully find them a forever home,” she said.

For more information on the foster program, visit www.accgov.com/10672/Foster-for-the-Fourth.

Here are some suggestions from the American Veterinary Medical Association to protect your pets:

• Take photos of your pets before the holiday, in case they run away.

• Leave pets at home if attending Fourth of July activities.

• Put pets in a safe, escape-proof room and close the blinds.

• Keep sparklers and other fireworks away from pets. After the holiday, check the yard for fireworks debris.

• Use ambient noise to mask the loud and unpredictable sounds.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Dogs that run from fireworks often end up in animal shelters