Not Free To Celebrate

I dread the two times a year those roadside stands go up filled with pyrotechnics. New Years and the Fourth Of July are not times of celebration around our house. We stay home to comfort dogs who are terrified of the explosions. We close ourselves in, turn the t.v or radio up, and settle down on the sofa. Hobbit reacts to every firework by jumping up and barking. Ella digs in, burying her head behind our backs. She's traumatized. She came to us in April of 2006, a fear filled dog with little human experience. For the first two months, she hid whenever we let her outside. Then, she gained some confidence and started to play a little in the yard. She delighted us with her running and jumping, hunting lizards that she never caught. That all changed in July, when someone threw fireworks at her over our chainlink fence. I found her cowering in a secluded corner of the yard. I had to carry her in the house. It took her months to regain her confidence outdoors and to this day, she's afraid of loud noises and flashing lights.

Ella is a hyper vigilant dog with extreme reactions to situations that are scary to her. But I know we're not alone when it comes to having animals that are affected by fireworks. Every year pets are displaced when they escape from houses and yards, running from noises they don't understand. Inevitably, the Lost and Found section of the newspaper lists pleas for help finding those pets. Most of the time, we're happy to see our neighbors, but in January and July, it becomes us against them. The people creating the havoc pitted against the people being negatively affected by it. I'm not unsympathetic to the sentiment that fireworks and apple pie go hand in hand. I grew up watching a display in the park on Independence Day and coming home to dance with sparklers on the lawn. But those were my childhood days, when I was unaware of the harm that was caused by those light shows.

Florida is benefiting monetarily from the sale of fireworks and has yet to stifle the powerful lobbying that keeps a moratorium on control over the sale of fireworks intact. A recent Statewide task force that was addressing the issue, failed to have an affect. I believe pet owners in this state are a powerful enough force to confront this issue and see changes made. One day, if this blog ever gets big enough to be a part of that effort, I'll post a call to rally. In the meantime, hunker down my friends. Offer what comfort you can to creatures great and small and be on the look out for those who are running in panic.