• Never give fireworks to small children, and never throw or point a firework toward people, animals, vehicles, structures or flammable materials.
• Always follow the instructions on the packaging.
• Keep a supply of water close by.
• Make sure the person lighting fireworks always wears eye protection.
• Light only one firework at a time and never attempt to relight “a dud.”
• Store fireworks in a cool, dry place away from children and pets.
• Never use fireworks around pets and keep them indoors. Exposure to lit fireworks can potentially result in severe burns or trauma, and many pets are also fearful of loud noises and can become lost, scared or disoriented.

• Designate a “water watcher” to keep a close eye and constant attention on children and weaker swimmers in and around the water until the next water watcher takes over.
• Have young children and inexperienced swimmers wear a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
• Teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
• Don’t dive in headfirst – protect your neck. Check for water depth and obstructions before diving and go in feet first the first time.
• If at a beach or water park, make sure lifeguards are on duty before you go in the water and follow all their instructions.
• Swimming in the ocean, a lake or river is different than swimming in a pool. Be sure you have the skills for these environments.
• Use waterproof sunscreen before leaving home and reapply during the day and drink plenty of fluids.

• Stay hydrated by drinking a cup of water every 20 minutes, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Avoid sugary, caffeinated and alcoholic drinks.
• Stay cool by spending time in air-conditioned places. If your home is too hot, go to a mall, library or cooling center.
• Stay connected by checking on others and asking for help if you need it. Make sure pets have access to fresh water and shade.
• Heat cramps are an early sign of trouble signaled by heavy sweating and muscle pain.
• Heat exhaustion is more serious and signaled by heavy sweating, weakness, cool and clammy skin, muscle cramps, dizziness, fainting, nausea or vomiting.
• Heat stroke is a deadly condition signaled by high body temperature, rapid heartbeat, confusion, headache, dizziness, fainting, nausea or vomiting.
• Wear loose-fitting, lightweight and light-colored clothing. Avoid dark colors because they absorb the sun’s rays.
• Some people are at higher risk of getting sick because their bodies have a harder time staying cool. This includes older adults, children, pregnant women, people who take medication and people with chronic conditions or disabilities.

(Evansville, IN  – Our nation’s birthday is right around the corner. The Vanderburgh Humane Society is offering tips for how to keep everyone safe & happy for the holiday weekend!

While celebrations with fireworks are exciting for people, those same booms can terrorize animals. Nationally, the first business day following July 4^th is the busiest at animal shelters for lost and found pets. “The thunderous noise from firework displays often frightens and disorients pets. They’ll do anything to get away from that noise,” says Amanda Coburn, VHS Director of Advancement. “Even the most social, easygoing pets are often affected. And sometimes it also happens to pets as they get older who may not have reacted as much in the past.”

When fireworks begin, dogs have been known to jump fences, dig out of their yards, break chains, and even bust through glass windows because of their fear. When pets are left alone to panic while owners are at holiday celebrations, ordinarily well-behaved pets may become destructive and unpredictable.

How to Keep Pets Calm During Fireworks

• Leave pets at home and inside. Fireworks can be terrifying to pets, even pets who are accustomed to being around crowds and commotion. Do not take them to crowded celebrations with you – they are often not permitted anyway!
• Create a home sanctuary. Whether you’re home or not, set up your pet in an area of your home where he or she is safe, comfortable and sheltered from any outside noise and lights. An interior room without immediate access to the outside is preferred. Playing a radio with relaxing music may help mask the sound of fireworks.
• Pet-proof your home. When scared, some animals may become destructive so be sure to remove anything from reach that can become damaged or may harm the pet if chewed or eaten.
• Consult a veterinarian for pets with anxiety. Reach out well before the Fourth of July to seek out potential medications for lowering pets’ stress level if this is a known issue. (Do not wait until the day before!)
• Wrap the pet in a Thundershirt. Similar to weighted blankets for humans, Thundershirts are a sort of security “swaddle” for pets. They are sold at most pet stores in various sizes!

What Happens If a Pet DOES Get Lost?

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• Identification is essential. Updated identification is critical to ensuring lost pets are reunited with their families. There are 2 very important ways to keep identification on your pet:

1. A properly-fitting collar WITH an ID tag! The ID tag should include at least one current phone number, preferably two, along with your pet’s name.

For pets who do not have ID tags, the Vanderburgh Humane Society sells engraveable MyFamily Pet ID tags in their lobby during business hours! (Shown at right.) Tags range from $10-$20 (plus tax) and come in a variety of designs. Tags take only 2 minutes to engrave!

2. A microchip! Microchips greatly increase your chances of getting your beloved pet home safely and promptly if someone finds them. Make sure that all of your contact information is up-to-date with the microchip company. (You can use a universal registry site like make www.petmicrochiplookup.org to check your pet’s chip if you have the number.) Put your pet’s microchip number as well as the name of the chip company andtheir phone number in your phone now so you have it handy in an emergency!

For pets who are not yet microchipped, Evansville Animal Care & Control offers this service during business hours for $25. It is a simple insertion with a small needle and takes just a few moments.

• Notify Everyone! If your pet is missing, quickly find recent photos of them.

o   Share those photos on social media (make sure the posts are public so they can be shared.)

o   Post them in the Evansville Lost Pets 2.0 Facebook group.

o   Utilize online platforms like Nextdoor, Pawboost, and Petco Love Lost.

o   Make some quick flyers to post in your neighborhood and hand some out to your Amazon & USPS carriers.

o   Notify your pet’s microchip company that they are missing.

o   Lastly, check local shelters in person every day. Things are very busy in shelters, especially after the 4^th of July. Keep checking!

Additional 4^th of July Safety Tips

• Do not leave fireworks out where your pet can eat them. Whether lit or unlit, fireworks are made of toxic materials that will make your pet sick!
• Use caution with pool chemicals. Many common pool treatments are poisonous to animals!
• Grapes/raisins, onions/garlic, and peanut butter sweetened with xylitol are all harmful to dogs. Be sure your pet is not getting table scraps at family barbecues & gatherings.
• NEVER leave your pet in a vehicle, even for a few minutes. Temperatures rise much faster inside cars even with the windows down. Dogs (and children!) die every year in hot cars.

Let’s make this a safe and happy Independence Day for people and pets by starting with prevention!

The Vanderburgh Humane Society is CLOSED on Friday, July 4^th in observance of the holiday. Regular business hours resume on Saturday, July 5^th from 12-6.

• Staff Report, statehouse files

In response to Indiana Republican Sens. Todd Young and Jim Banks voting for the GOP’s budget, Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian released the following statement:

“Todd Young and Jim Banks once again failed Hoosiers by caving and passing Donald Trump’s disastrous billionaire-first budget. This budget is the worst bill to pass the Senate in over 40 years and it will rob Hoosiers of their health insurance, take food off the table, and kill good-paying jobs—all to line the pockets of the GOP’s billionaire donors. This budget is an attack on working families across Indiana. Hoosiers Democrats are mobilizing to hold Republicans accountable everywhere because the stakes have never been higher. This budget is retaliation to against states who expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and will strip healthcare coverage from 230,000 Hoosiers and lead to hospital closures in places like Logansport, Rensselaer, Portland, Sullivan, Washington, Bremen, Winchester, North Vernon, Brazil, Salem, Decatur, and Corydon. It’s shameful.”

Shortly after noon Tuesday, U.S. senators voted 50-50 on the “big, beautiful bill” and Vice President J.D. Vance broke the tie to send it back to the House.

Erin Macey, director of the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute: “We know that when Hoosiers are financially stable, they can better contribute to their families, communities, and the world. Making dramatic cuts to the programs families rely on to stay healthy and feed their families to give tax breaks to those who don’t need them hurts us all.

Olivia Smith, tax and budget policy analyst at the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute: “The most recent analysis we’ve seen suggests that Hoosiers in the bottom income bracket will see tax savings of only about $80—barely enough to fill the car’s gas tank or pay for back-to-school supplies—while those in the top 1% will receive an additional $60,000 in tax relief. The tax breaks for the top 1% provide more than what most working Hoosiers earn in a full year! While they can use this windfall to buy a luxury car or a lavish vacation, regular families will be worrying about how to keep food on the table. The cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will likely mean increased grocery bills and medical debt, while cuts to the funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will leave Hoosiers with an underfed, weakened watchdog. It’s distressing to consider the far-reaching impacts this will have on those who are already struggling to make ends meet and the domino effects on grocery stores, hospitals, and other corners of our local communities.”

Last week, Statehouse leadership selected topics for legislators’ interim study committees.

Rep. Gregory W. Porter, D-Indianapolis: “There are some valuable study topics this year, but there are a lot of missed opportunities. Indiana’s seeing cuts from the revenue shortfall, and the sword is hanging over our head with the One Big ‘Beautiful’ Bill. But we’re not going to discuss how these cuts or potential changes impact Hoosiers. We don’t know what will be in the final version, but we know things will change. We also need to look into the impact of tariffs on our small businesses, farmers and factories. Indiana will be going into these changes blind.

“We could lose nearly a trillion in federal Medicaid funding, but the Medicaid Oversight Committee isn’t meeting. We’re not going to discuss the change to HIP 3.0, the implementation of work requirements or the FSSA’s plan for increased eligibility checks. None of my submissions to examine additional revenue streams were considered, including adjusting the alcohol tax, free play casinos, or a small tax on soda. Even a small tax increase could bring local public health funding back up to its original appropriation.

“But we’re not going to look into solutions for the revenue shortfall. Even if our state revenues do rebound, the One Big ‘Beautiful’ could sink us again. There are several devastating problems we could have addressed this summer but chose otherwise.

“Indiana’s at a fork in the road, and instead of continuing the journey, we’re stopping for a picnic.”

House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, issued the following statement on the new laws going into effect  July 1:

“Today, Indiana’s misguided budget and Medicaid cuts go into effect. In recent weeks, we’ve seen our state pre-K program get cut. Just yesterday, the Commission for Higher Education announced that over 400 degree programs at public universities will be cut or merged.

“What this all means is this: Working people get ripped off while the wealthy get richer. You’ll have fewer health care options and your local public school will have less funding. Meanwhile, you’ll be paying more taxes and receiving less services. But at least a few corporations no longer have to pay some business taxes, and wealthy families who already were sending their children to private school will get a tax break for it.

“This doesn’t have to be Indiana’s future, though. Indiana House Democrats are committed to fighting for laws that invest in public education, protect health care, and ensure working families aren’t left behind.

“The message from Statehouse Republicans is that you should be happy with less. House Democrats believe you deserve more. You deserve an Indiana you can afford.”

On June 30, the Commission for Higher Education (CHE) announced that more than 400 degree programs across six of Indiana’s universities would be eliminated, suspended or merged. The state budget included a statute setting a minimum threshold of graduates for all degree programs. Across all Purdue University campuses, 83 programs will be impacted. Programs include bachelor’s in various disciplines of engineering, foreign languages, special education, economics and mathematics.

Rep. Chris Campbell, D-West Lafayette: “This is an overreach of government into higher education, echoing a dangerous national trend. The majority isn’t outright controlling students’ education, but they’re restricting it, which achieves the same goal. Students should be able to study whatever they choose, especially since they’re paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for it. Programs impacted include economics, secondary education, finance and three engineering disciplines. I was especially shocked to see special education degrees on the list.

“When I got my master’s in audiology at Purdue, it was a relatively small program. But the size of the program didn’t matter. It was offered because students were interested, and even though the discipline is small, audiologists provide essential services.

“Our public university is arguably our state’s greatest strength. Purdue is globally recognized. But to continue their record of success, Purdue has to be a great place to work and study. The General Assembly has continued to undercut these efforts with tenure reviews, monitoring instruction and now eliminating degree programs. It will get harder and harder for Purdue to pitch itself to out-of-state students and the nation’s top researchers.

“For the party of small governance, this is a gross overreach into students’ academic opportunities.”