The numbers are staggering.

Approximately 7.6 million animals enter shelters each year, and 2.7 million animals are euthanized each year. About twice as many animals enter shelters as strays compared to the number that are relinquished by their owners and only about 649,000 of those animals who enter shelters as strays are returned to their owners each year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The Vicksburg-Warren Humane Society is one of 13,000 shelters in the United States that works to care for pets that no longer have a place to call home, and this weekend more animals will likely be taken there thanks to Fourth of July fireworks displays.

“Every single day we get lost dog calls, but there is a slight increase every Fourth,” said executive director Georgia Lynn. “I expect we’ll get half a dozen calls after this weekend. ”

Local dedication to pet safety and identification should not be a focus just when festivities involve fireworks though. It is needed year-round to reduce the number of pets that enter the shelter.

A permanent decrease in the number of lost and stray animals is the key to reducing usage stress on the shelter.

Keeping identification on pets is a necessity to make that goal a reality. Even if pets normally don’t wander far from their owners, accidents like car crashes and disasters like tornadoes happen, often leaving pets miles from their homes with no way to reunite them with their owners.

Placing identification on a pet is as simple as providing its name and owner’s phone number.

“It doesn’t have to be a whole lot of information,” Lynn said.

The local humane society receives calls every day about missing pets. Every single day.

A simple step can be the difference between a pet being reunited with its owner and being put down.

Few people understand the work and money needed to care for these sheltered animals, and few like to think about the alternative many animals face if not adopted.

Be a forever home for a pet at the local animal shelter.