Chicago Animal Care And Control Taking In Lost Pets 'Nonstop' Since Fireworks Displays
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's no secret fireworks scare most dogs. Thursday night's light shows did more than send them into hiding. Some took off running and still haven't been found.
One Pilsen pet owner is looking for help.
She says her dog heard illegal fireworks being set off in Pilsen at midnight Thursday night, got out of the apartment and ran off into the night.
"His name is Growlithe, like the Pokemon," Karla Ocampo said of her Pomeranian puppy. "Hes one year old. I love him to death. He's my heart. He was frightened by the fireworks, so he ran right out of the house up the stairs, through the gate and was just gone."
Ocampo and her friends are hanging flyers across the community and posting about the lost dog on social media.
"I'm just really sad that he's gone," she said.
And she's not the only Chicagoan searching for a lost pet.
Quintin Fourte is looking for Hazel, a 4-month-old German Shepherd.
Fourte and his daughter Quinaiya said Hazel ran away while illegal fireworks went off near their Wrightwood home.
"She got excited quite a bit, running around, startled, but I never thought she'd get out of the fence," he said.
At Chicago Animal Care and Control workers are preparing for a busy Independence Day weekend.
"We've been anticipating that there will be so many lost dogs," said Chicago Animal Care and Control Deputy Director Mamadou Diakhate.
Diakhate said the facility saw nearly double the average number of animals being brought in Friday.
"They didn't stop coming," Diakhate said. "Since we opened the door at 8, we've been receiving dogs, cats, nonstop."
Ocampo and Fourte wish someone would walk through the door with their dogs.
"I'm really sad that he's gone," said Ocampo.
"We're just going to keep at it and hope something positive happens," said Fourte. "We hope she can come home and be with the family."
If anyone has information on the whereabouts of either pet featured or any other animals, report it to a local shelter.
