… and what it means for our pets.
On Monday August 21st all of North America will get to experience a solar eclipse. If you are lucky enough to be in the path of totality the moon will completely block out the sun and the sun’s tenuous atmosphere (the corona) will be visible.
People have been warned to buy special sun viewing glasses to witness this rare event but what about our pets? Because our pets don’t spend time looking directly at the sun, effects on the eyes are probably going to be very rare. In historical eclipse events there hasn’t been any cases of pets with retinal damage or blindness reported. Some things that may happen that you might want to take into consideration are:
- If you plan on viewing the eclipse in a crowded area and your dog or cat experiences stress in crowded areas it may be best if you leave them at home.
- There may be a weather change that sensitive pets can detect. They are reporting a temperature drop and a decrease in brightness while the eclipse is occurring. If your pet experiences stress during storms, this could be similar.
- Pets feed off of our emotional state. If you are very excited or nervous about the eclipse happening your pets might act out. Changing your schedule to view the event might also make them anxious.
Because most of the effect that we anticipate will affect our pets are behavioural there are some things you can do. Thundershirts work by suppressing anxiety and may help to make your pets feel calmer. Adaptil collars that emit a comforting pheromone will help to make your pet feel more at ease. Be aware of your emotions and reactions around the event and understand that this may affect your pet.
If you have any further questions don’t hesitate to give us a call!