COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. -- Most dog owners will attest that Fourth of July fireworks shows can be especially problematic to their pets.
So imagine the stress both the dogs and staff at the Colonial Heights Animal Shelter feel each July.
The shelter, on Charles Dimmock Parkway, sits about 300 feet from the city's annual fireworks show launch location.
"It stresses them out, 100 percent," Amanda Richards, with Colonial Heights Animal Services, said. "It makes them pant extra and obviously they can’t go anywhere, so they panic.”
That's a problem. Jeff Kellogg, the owner of Woofy Wellness Ranch in Sandston, offered a solution.
About 40 minutes before showtime, Kellogg's Woofy Bus arrived in Colonial Heights.
There, the shelter's staff helped load the dogs onto the bus.
“Each dog has a window they can look out and they just go for a bus ride," Kellogg said. "For us, it was a quick fix."
Woofy Bus staff drove the bus to Hopewell where there was no fireworks show at the time.
"It was really quiet, surprisingly quiet," Bill Howard, with Woofy Wellness Ranch, said. "The dogs seem to get on there and they just settle right in."
Richards agreed that it all "worked out great."
Kellogg said he'd love to see the dogs get out of the shelter permanently and into loving homes.
"But if we can help a little bit, for that hour and a half, it’s absolutely worth our while," he said.
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