A black and white dog wearing shades

Your Pets and Eclipses: What You Should Know

Here in the not-too-distant future, we’ll have two exciting astronomical events taking place in the United States:


  • On October 14, 2023, parts of the American Southwest and the Pacific Coast will experience an annular solar eclipse. During this event, total darkness will not occur. However, many of the characteristics of a total solar eclipse can be witnessed, making it an exciting event that shouldn’t be missed.
  • On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be viewable by thirteen American states starting from Texas and ending in rural Maine. This will be the first viewable total eclipse in the United States in over seven years.

Both of these events will cause quite a stir in the communities that come in contact with the path of the eclipse. Our team at Rainbow Symphony understands why folks get so excited. After all, we’ve been making quality eclipse glasses for over 40 years, and we have a great love and appreciation for any eclipses.

One of the questions we get asked from time to time here at Rainbow Symphony deals with eclipses and animals. More particularly, people are worried about their pets and eclipse safety. We understand their concern, after all, as animal lovers ourselves, we understand how pets become part of the family! 

To help you better understand how eclipses can affect animals, we want to share with you some of our most commonly asked questions.

 

Question: Do animals respond to a solar eclipse?

A black and brown anxious wide-eyed dog

Answer: Understandably, there haven’t been many studies done on the relationship between eclipses and animals. After all, eclipses are fairly rare and last for a short amount of time. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that animals are indeed affected by an eclipse. Nocturnal animals start to stir as it gets dark. Many diurnal animals (those active during the day) go silent, while crickets may begin to chirp as they think night has arrived. Animals such as bats may even venture out for a few minutes thinking that their nocturnal routine should begin.

 

Q: Will my pet be afraid of a solar eclipse?

A: As far as household pets, most owners find that their pets don’t make too much of a fuss when it comes to an eclipse. Again, the evidence is mostly anecdotal, yet most cat and dog owners do not see their pets respond negatively to the early onset of darkness, nor the return of sunshine.

If your pet is afraid of anything in relation to an eclipse, it may be the large parties that can take place during an eclipse. If your dog or cat struggles with loud noises, fireworks, or any other elements of a party atmosphere, make provision for this possibility ahead of time.

 

Q: Should my pet stay indoors during an eclipse?

A: There’s nothing inherently dangerous about the relationship between an eclipse and an animal being outside. After all, it doesn’t seem that wild animals suffer from any ill effects from being outdoors during an eclipse. However, you should be aware that the mechanics of the eye of a dog or cat are similar to that of a human eye. That means that looking directly into the sun can cause blindness in either a dog, cat, or human. 

Although it doesn’t seem to be part of the nature of a dog or cat to look directly at the sun, the possibility still exists that they could attempt to do so and unintentionally cause themselves harm. If this is worrisome to you, it may be simpler to leave them inside during a solar eclipse for their safety, as well as for your own peace of mind. This way you can enjoy the eclipse and your animal can stay safe indoors.

 

Q: Should my pet wear eclipse glasses like humans do?

A black dog wearing shades

A: The answer is that they can, but that doesn’t mean that they will! In our experience, animals are very unlikely to tolerate anything on their face that doesn’t belong there. So, while there’s nothing wrong with attempting to watch an eclipse and have your animal wear glasses, it seems like something that will cause a great deal of hassle for both pet and owner!

 

Q: What kind of glasses should a human wear during an eclipse?

A: That’s a good question! Like an animal, a human can get eclipse blindness from looking directly at the sun during an eclipse. The best way to ensure your eyes remain safe during an eclipse is to wear glasses that have been certified for eclipse viewing.

When you purchase eclipse glasses from Rainbow Symphony, you can protect your eyes from harmful solar radiation during eclipses and solar events. Our eclipse glasses are trusted by the AAS and NASA and meet the standard for ISO 12312-2:2015. These glasses are "CE" Certified, meaning they meet the transmission requirements for scale 12-16 of EN 169/1992 for completely safe direct solar viewing. All of Rainbow Symphony’s eclipse sunglasses meet the 2012 Transmission Requirements of EN 1836:2005 and AS/NZS 1338.1:1992 for eclipse filters (Queensland Directive).

Our specialty solar viewer lenses are made of scratch-resistant materials, featuring grade-five optical density. This guarantees absolute protection from potentially harmful solar radiation. “Black Polymer” completely filters out 100% of ultraviolet light, infrared light, and 99.999% of intense visible light. The filters placed on the lenses will produce an orange-colored image of the sun delivered with sharper clarity.

 

Choose Rainbow Symphony!

When it comes to an eclipse and an animal, Fido will be safe as long as you take some simple, common-sense precautions. Make sure you do the same for yourself by purchasing your eclipse glasses from Rainbow Symphony. Contact our customer service team today if you have any questions about eclipses and pets. We’ll be glad to help!

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