How to stay aware of your pets and neighbors during July Fourth
Fireworks are a staple for celebrating the Fourth of July, but sometimes, our pets and even fellow neighbors can be impacted by the celebrations.
ABC 17 News looked into firework ordinances, noise ordinances and how to keep nervous pets calm if the festivities get loud.
Detective Tom O’Sullivan with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department said 9-1-1 calls about noise complaints will probably not be answered. “Unless there was a threat to property or fireworks were being discharged in a manner that can cause physical injury or if you were setting off fireworks in an unreasonable hour,” said O’Sullivan.
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Community Relations Specialist for Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services Eric Stann told ABC 17 News, “Fireworks are illegal within the city limits of Columbia. If you live in Boone County outside of Columbia, be aware of and follow your local municipality’s ordinance.”
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/ColumbiaPD/status/1014253539676258304″,”author_name”:”ColumbiaPD”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/ColumbiaPD”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;We want you to have a fun and SAFE July 4! Please remember fireworks are prohibited inside city limits. CPD will have additional officers on duty. Officers will be assigned to firework-related issues and will take appropriate action when necessary. Info: &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/2pWYiZGfpO”&#gt;https://t.co/2pWYiZGfpO&#lt;/a&#gt; &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/6SHjg073gx”&#gt;pic.twitter.com/6SHjg073gx&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;– ColumbiaPD (@ColumbiaPD) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/ColumbiaPD/status/1014253539676258304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;July 3, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
In Columbia, there are many rules about setting off fireworks. You can read an excerpt of the code below:
Sec. 16-234. – Fireworks and firearms.
(a) Discharging. Every person who shall fire or discharge any gun, pistol, revolver or any other firearm or air rifle, or shall possess, use, burn, explode or set off any firecracker, torpedo, bomb, rocket, pinwheel, fire balloon, Roman candles or any other firecracker or fireworks other than a sparkler within the city shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section.
Continue reading Columbia’s firework code here.
Cole County does not have a fireworks or noise ordinance, according to Cole County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Captain Aaron Bolinger. Instead, they use the peace ordinance code, which can be read here.
Residents are also encouraged to pay attention to their pets. Loud noises like fireworks can provoke many different responses.
Jennifer Miller, a Columbia resident, told ABC 17 News how her German Shepard reacted to fireworks during one Fourth of July celebration.
“He was outside, he ended up tearing a lot of siding off of our house and he jumped through our bedroom window,” said Miller.
The Humane Society told ABC 17 News that they advise keeping your pets inside, playing soothing music and keeping them company.
The Boone County Office of Emergency Management also commented on how to keep pets safe during the holiday on Twitter:
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