Diwali 2019: Celebrate this Diwali responsibly by caring for the animals around you

Our celebration should not take a toll on the animals around us and that is our responsibility. It's upon us to keep the animals safe and protected through the night of Diwali and firecrackers.

By Janvi Manchanda

Updated on Oct 24, 2019 | 07:38 PM IST | 1.7M

Diwali 2019: Celebrate this Diwali responsibly by caring for the animals around you

With Diwali just around the corner, we're all very excited about the festival. We just can't wait to dress up and celebrate this festival with a lot of pomp and splendour. This festival of lights is meant to bring happiness and prosperity and joy in people's lives. But this festival also comes with a lot of fireworks and crackers and diyas. Now we love it all but the animals around us don't. Our celebration and festivities can take a toll on all the animals around us. All those stray dogs that we feed and our lovely little furballs at home can get stressed out during this festival. Our festival should not be distressing for the living beings around us and it is essential that we keep that in mind. All the loud noise and lights and firecrackers can make life very difficult for animals. They have a hearing ability much higher than ours.

The loud sound of crackers sounds much louder to them and it is also harmful to their health. More importantly, the stary animals often end up with injuries and at times, this festival ends with their lives. It's time we start celebrating this festival in a more responsible manner and keep our pets and strays safe. Here are some tips to take care of all the animal around you this Diwali

1. Open up your home to the stray dogs. Allow them into your garden and parking space or balcony. You can allow the dogs into your society's parking lot as well. Let them have a safe spot for a night. Also, remember to keep some food and water for them so that they don't have to step out and look for food when they're hungry.

2. Keep an eye out for notorious people and kids who may want to harm these stray babies. Also, inform the society people of the same and ask them to keep an eye out for anyone who may harm the dogs or cats with crackers or any such thing.

3. Keep a contact list of animal shelters, NGO's and Vet's handy in case of any emergency. Animals can easily get injured during this time and you can always find help in such cases.

4. Have a separate area to burst crackers for everyone that is away from the animals and the place where they're resting.

5. Volunteer with animal NGO's or shelters and keep an eye out for any dog or cat that may need your help. Walk around your area and keep a tab on the strays and pets in your area.

6. Keep your pets safe. Spend time with them and help them stay calm through the night. Try to put them to bed before the firecrackers start.

7. Keep your doors and windows shut and try to keep the noise out as much as possible. Turn up the sound of your tv to mask the noise or get them ear muffs.

8. Keep them distracted with toys and treats and play with them instead of bursting more crackers that can make life difficult for them and the strays.