There has been a lot of talk about the solar eclipse and its effect on humans: Traffic will be a nightmare, cell service might be jammed, and you could seriously damage your eyes if you don’t have proper protection.
But what kind of effect will the eclipse have on your pets?
The answer, as it turns out, is not too much of an effect at all.
“I would love to have something exciting to tell you,” Kitsap Veterinary Hospital Medical Director Dr. Nancy Taylor said. “I think pets are safe. I think they just need to be prepared that it gets dark.”
If you’re experiencing the eclipse in western Washington, it’s likely to get dark close to 10 a.m. The peak time is supposed to be closer to 10:20 a.m.
And Taylor says even though your dog or cat might not be too bothered by what’s happening outside, birds and other wild animals are a different story.
“Birds will all of a sudden go ‘oh, it’s night time.’ They’ll roost for that short time and large animals will lie down because they think that it’s time to go to sleep," she said. "I was reading something that they talked about how quiet it becomes because all of a sudden you’re hearing birds and then there’s no noise at all.”
So add "potentially unsettling sound of silence" to the list of effects on humans.
