As fireworks prepare to light up the skies for the Fourth of July, many pets might experience anxiety and panic—which can lead to a sharp uptick in runaway animals and emergency vet visits, according to data from national retailer PetSmart.

Diarra Blue is a veterinarian expert with a local Houston PetSmart. Blue spoke with Community Impact to discuss the importance of keeping pets safe and stress-free during the Fourth of July weekend. The following interview with Blue has been edited for length and clarity.

What should readers know about keeping pets safe and stress-free?

Around the time of year, we're popping out fireworks and celebrating our independence. Those loud sounds that we don't necessarily know where they come from, the animals are sensing that a little bit more in a heightened state. They can hear better than us. They can see better than us. So when they hear those bangs and they don't know where they're coming from, they get really, really scared.

Specifically those animals that are housed outdoors, what oftentimes happens is those animals will get so afraid that they will even leave their yard or break loose from their chain, or even sometimes break loose from their owners, and they run away trying to seek refuge. So it's very important to understand that is a phenomenon that happens. We need to be aware of it.

What else should pet owners be aware of?

Other things that happen during this time is that we all tend to get together and have a cookout. We're grilling. We're doing boils. These food items are oftentimes inadvertently or even sometimes intentionally, ingested by the animals. These things can lead to several problems with their gastrointestinal tract like vomiting, diarrhea, that can lead to other conditions, such as pancreatitis.

So I think understanding going around this time, our biggest issues that we deal with are animals that are displaced from their home, animals that are dealing with GI issues or illnesses due to the food that they eat.

How can pet owners be proactive going into this situation?

We recommend that all of our animals are microchipped. We highly recommend it for any animal, because when they are displaced, then we can definitely help them find their way home. When they're scanned by a veterinarian or a shelter or police or animal control, we can get them back home. It's also important, and probably more important, to make sure that those devices, specifically, the microchips, are registered with accurate and updated information.

We want to talk about the outside animals. It's probably a good idea to bring those guys in the house. Place them into an area that's very safe, using things like white noise in the background; turn up the TV loud, allow them to watch TV; play music in the background. Whether it's jazz, or whether it's opera, [turn] the volume up for them.

What are some over-the-counter solutions for pet anxiety?

Obviously, we want to make sure we see our babies [at the clinic] to make sure any medications that we've given them are safe for them. We also have things that tend to work a little bit more better, more intentional, but if you have to get something over-the-counter and you can't get to your veterinarian, I would say diphenhydramine.

Diphenhydramine is an anti-histamine that people use for their children. They usually have it in their home, and we do one milligram per pound. It's very safe to do a milligram per pound of a dog or cat body weight, and that amount should cause some sedation. If they don't see that the animal's responding, you can go up to two milligrams per pound, but they might be very sedated.

In worst-case scenarios, what is the best emergency tip?

The best tip that I tell every owner, have your veterinarian's number. You should have it on speed dial on your phone. But if it's after hours, which a lot of times, unfortunately, things do happen after hours, it's ideal to make sure that you know where your nearest Emergency Animal Hospital that's going to be open 24 hours for you to get to.

Also know where your nearest shelter is, in the case that you do lose your animal, they're misplaced, displaced, you can actually go to search for them.