Trick and Treat And Going Out With A Bang

As Travis approaches his first birthday, the nights close in and the pumpkins appear… and so do the fireworks.

I always said that I wanted a dog born in firework season so that he would be inured  to bangs and flashes and I got my wish.

Meanwhile, Travis has been fascinated by carved pumpkins on our route to the park, popping his paws onto fenceposts as we pass and taking a sneaky lick of the jack o’ lanterns on walls. He’s performed double takes of the carved faces and sniffed at myriads of plastic spiders trapped in yards of cotton wool webs. Normally I find this kind of tat in what is after all, a commercialised and imported festival, irritating, but it is amusing to see it through a puppy’s eyes.

This time of year can be very difficult for all animals, not to mention vulnerable people as the fireworks start. It can be relentless from Diwali to New Year as festivals of light inevitably become cacophonies of explosions, magnified in an urban environment by the sound bouncing off hard surfaces with the ever-present risk of fire. My last dog could have been killed by the hooligan who lobbed a firework at him as he passed in a car if his aim had been better – or is that worse?

In spite of campaigns for the sale of fireworks to be banned to the public to reduce harm and the drive towards quieter fireworks, countless animals suffer stress and even die just for the sake of bangs and flashes.

I am profoundly lucky in that Travis has paid no attention to fireworks and I can “go out with a bang” after dark and not worry about shielding him indoors either. As I write this with fireworks going off nearby, he is fast asleep. That’s more than I can manage during firework displays.

 

Next week: Counting Our Blessings

Contact me now if you need to help your dog to cope with fireworks or any other noise phobia. It can always be made better.