New Years Plea for the Fireworks Fans

[Doug Shepard]

For anybody planning on lighting off firecrackers for New Years Eve, please stop and consider your 4-legged neighbors (as well as your 2-legged ones). Most dogs get extremely stressed out by the loud popping of firecrackers. Mine will be up pacing all night every time a few more go off, and getting her to go outside to take care of business can be a real challenge. And mine is a moderate case. Some dogs will get so nervous they'll get destructive or relieve themselves inside rather than go out.

[Matt Meiser]

Yep, freaks my dog out to. Luckily (?) the neighbors who were the biggest offenders decided to stop paying their mortgage and the bank didn't let them stay.

Probably not a good night for fireworks here anyway--have you seen this morning's updated Detroit area weather forecast? Last night they said 0-2" of snow for tonight. This morning they are say 3-7" in Detroit, 5-9" in Toledo. :eek: It'll be a fun night for law enforcment, fire, and the road crews.

[Lee DeRaud]

The July 4th/New Year's Eve fireworks are manageable, mostly because fireworks are illegal here and the cops do a really good job patrolling those nights.

The really annoying part is the clueless twit (insert your own description here, mine's probably worse) on the next street over who lights his off, one or two at a time, at 3AM every other night or so, for the next month.

[Jim O'Dell]

Doug, you echo my thoughts exactly. Our old dog never was bothered when he was younger. But now as the hearing is going, he really freaks out. Wants to dig in the carpet, hide in my wife's closet and tear it up. Tries to get in the bath tub, but is so feeble now, I'm afraid he will really get hurt. We also have one foster dog that had been shot at in her previous home, and she gets really uptight too. And I live in an unincorporated area, so people are free to do what they want. And several shoot off the big stuff. On top of that, we have a fire watch out, especially with the cold front coming through today that is supposed to dry everything out that much more. Could be a bad situation. Hopefully the normal offenders will have gotten a little smarter in '07. Guess we'll see in about10 hours. Jim.

[Doug Shepard]

...
The really annoying part is the clueless twit (insert your own description here, mine's probably worse) on the next street over who lights his off, one or two at a time, at 3AM every other night or so, for the next month.

As much as I hate firing those off, that's what it took to cure our neighborhood's clueless twit. The cops were never able to catch him in the act anytime they were called. Several neighbors were commenting a few years ago about this jerk waking everyone up on work nights. So we determined what his sleep schedule was, and set big ones off by his bedroom window within a day or two of his midnight play sessions. The 2nd (and last time) a note was also left on his windshield. He pretty much stops by 10 PM now and hasn't done it since.

[Pat Germain]

The fools in my Virginia neighborhood always fired there rifles into the air every New Year's Eve. One year a woman in nearby Suffolk died when a falling round landed on her head.

Strangely, my two beagles aren't phased by fireworks. I live next to a minor league baseball stadium where they launch fireworks all summer long. My dogs notice it, but nothing more.

Fireworks are also illegal here, but it doesn't stop people from driving to Wyoming to buy them and set them off in Colorado Springs.

[Al Wasser]

If you think the Springs is bad, Pat, come a little farther south for the 4th of July. I plan on leaving town each 4th to keep my sanity and my blood pressure down.

[David Epperson]

The fools in my Virginia neighborhood always fired there rifles into the air every New Year's Eve.
We usually get to listen to about a thousand rounds get fired. Since fireworks are illegal, might as well shoot a magazine or 3 of 9mm and/or 40 cal, a few 22s and 12 gauges. The 4th usually sounds like Baghdad. This year it was cold enough to keep it down to tolerable. I'd whole lot rather the dog be bothered a bit with firecrackers, but enough people complained to get them outlawed. This is the result.

[Phil Thien]

Most dogs get extremely stressed out by the loud popping of firecrackers. Mine will be up pacing all night every time a few more go off, and getting her to go outside to take care of business can be a real challenge.

I agree. My current dog (black lab) couldn't care less. But my German Shepherds did not like it at all. I finally learned to play REAL LOUD music during fireworks on the 4th of July. This meant I didn't get to go see the fireworks when I was growing up, but the dogs were a wreck otherwise, so I stayed home and we listened to the hi-fi.

[Chris Padilla]

We had a black lab/irish setter mix growing up and she'd freak every 4th and New Years. She was barely controllable but she wasn't as bad before the distemper pills we had her on.