Share...not necessarily this post, but anything you see on Facebook about fireworks.
I work side jobs to feed the cats. During the summer, I flip veggie/meat burgers, clear tables, wash dishes, etc. for summer parties, so the hosts can actually interact with their guests. Some of these take place around the 4th of July. Last year I experienced the panicked yelling of a neighbor whose dog bolted when partying people set off large fireworks, as many people do around the lake. Clearly these neighbors were settled in to enjoy the show themselves. They were not "anti-fireworks." Their dog was hanging out with them on their deck. Suddenly, after the first major BOOM, I hear and see, from across a gorge, the neighbor calling and chasing after their unrestrained dog, who was bolting away from the lake, toward the rural highway. I could not get across the gorge to help catch the dog, but I could get to the person setting off the fireworks show, to see if they would delay setting off any more fireworks until the dog was restrained.
That fireworks person was confused by my request. They did not own dogs. They did not understand that a "dog running away" was a huge issue, that could result in weeks or months of anguish, and even people in danger if the dog ran onto the road in front of a car, or was hit and bit a person who was trying to help him. The fireworks were not postponed.
We can criticize all we want, but we need to expect that people who don't have pets, or aren't involved in animal welfare, don't understand the larger issue of lost and panicked pets during fireworks. We can "share" on Facebook all we want, but there will still be folks whose dogs could care less about fireworks (like my Molly) or who have no pets, who don't know that July 4 is day when most pets are lost. If they are not "connected" with other pet folks on Facebook, they will never know.
Nonetheless, Facebook and other social media options are all we have. So please share, share, share, any information you have about fireworks and pets. Maybe one person will bring their dog or cat indoors during this most explosive holiday, and one pet's life will be saved.
Thank you so much for this post. If I weren't a FaceBook & Twitter conscientious objector, I'd be posting links to this all over!
ReplyDeleteOh, how I wish the fireworks could be contained to just the 4th. My neighborhood is like a war zone from about Cinco de Mayo all the way through 16 de Septiembre - the two big Mexican holidays - with a big crescendo on the 4th. Seriously, every single night there are pop bottle rockets, cohetes (giant over-sized pop bottle rockets that come up from Mexico) cherry bombs and who knows what else... all of which are strictly illegal here in Denver. But the cops do nothing. There are many nights when I can't even have the windows open because the smell of gun powder is so thick in the air and the cats just freak out.
I'll try to keep reminding myself that it's ignorance not malice - but the windows are all staying closed tonight with the AC fan on constant mode to try to block out some of the noise. The thing is, each of my cats reacts so differently. Princess, who lived outside for years doesn't seem to notice, Smoky goes "on patrol" running from window to window, but poor little Jasper hides under furniture... hopefully his nerves won't get too worn before the evening is over.