How the partial eclipse may impact your pets

DAYTON — Humans are not the only ones who will be paying attention to the partial eclipse on Saturday.

My experience and reaction is that animals are perceptive and perceptive responders to their environment. And they’ve evolved to that environment for a long, long time,” John Keller, director at Fiske Planetarium at the University of Colorado said.

He said just like humans, animals have different reactions to their environment.

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“Whether that’s an eclipse that they are noticing or a thunderstorm or lightning storm. There are things that are going on that are definitely going to be noted by animals,” Keller said.

He said he’s witnessed reactions from animals during eclipses himself while at home in Idaho with his family in 2017.

He said a child had come up to him and said she found a dead bat.

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“We don’t know exactly what caused the demise of the bat but clearly it was out because it thought it was nighttime,” He said.

Keller said you may notice your own pets affected by the eclipse.

“Dogs appear to show more interest or more stress or more odd behavior than cats, but of course, cats never respond to anything,” he said.

Keller did note the effects on animals from a total solar eclipse will be more dramatic than during the partial eclipse.

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