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Portland, OR (KPTV) — It’s a busy couple days for animal shelters and hospitals, as they care for more sick and stray pets from the Fourth of July.
At Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital in Northwest Portland, certified veterinary technician Sarah Harris is busy around holidays: “Especially ones where there’s nice weather because Portland is just so active with their animals and whether that’s hiking or picnics trouble arises and we’re here to help,” she said.
This Fourth of July they cared for 87 animals Thursday alone, compared to their 61 patients on an average day.
Of those, they can’t exactly pinpoint what’s Fourth of July related and what’s not, but there are some cases that seem to be more than coincidence, like a dog that ate a chicken bone at a picnic.
“I don’t think he’s remorseful but he’s doing ok we were able to help him feel better and get home,” Harris said.
In fact, they say a lot of their cases this holiday were food-related, something to keep in mind this weekend and really, all summer long.
“Things like corn cob ingestion which can be dangerous to pets and even skewers from kebobs from grilling,” Harris said.
In addition to their patients, they took in more strays than usual. We checked in with shelters in the area who also had quite a few lost pets.
Bonnie Hays in Washington County had 11 animals, 10 of which were dogs, reunited with their owners.
The Humane Society of Southwest Washington took in 22 animals.
And Multnomah County Animal Services took in 21.
Several shelters tell us these numbers have improved over the years thanks to social media.
Apps like Nextdoor allow neighbors to help each other find their pets before having to take them to the shelter.
But Harris says just in case they do end up at a shelter or here, it’s good to have them micro-chipped with up-to-date contact information.
As for this weekend, Multnomah County Animal Services will be waiving impound and board fees through Sunday as long as the pet is picked up by Tuesday.
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