Many people enjoy celebrating holidays with fireworks, but what looks like a fun spectacle for humans can be a nightmare for our pets.
Pets don’t understand what is happening, and their sensitive hearing makes the explosions even more panic-inducing. Many owners will tell you they’ve spent a Fourth of July having to calm their dogs down.
But sometimes it can be deadly, when the sound of fireworks causes pets to be shocked to death. That’s the warning one woman is putting out after losing one of her pets.
On November 5, the UK celebrates Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night, and celebrations usually involve lavish fireworks displays.
But it wasn’t fun and games for Jen Bradshaw, from Greater Manchester, England, who spent the night calming down her terrified pets.
“I’ve got a dog cowering in his crate, another dog howling and shaking,” Jen wrote on Facebook.
But the most terrified was her one-year-old rabbit, Dash.
Jen says her neighborhood has had fireworks since mid-October, but the severity of the November 5 display proved to be far too much for them to handle.
Checking on the rabbits, she found Dash in a state of severe shock.
“I found Dash lying in the run looking lifeless and immediately brought her in,” Jen said. “She had two fits in my arms in the house, both triggered by fireworks – fireworks that she heard whilst indoors.”
She moved the rabbits inside away from the display, but it proved too late for Dash, who died in her arms later that night.
What makes the story so heartbreaking and shocking is how young and healthy this rabbit was before the fireworks began.
“This rabbit was hopping around the run at 4pm and now she’s dead,” Jen wrote.
Still grieving for her poor rabbit, Jen continued to fear for her other pets’ lives. She later posted the story on Facebook, hoping it serves as a warning to other pet owners, as well as a wake-up call for those setting off fireworks.
“This is the REAL impact of fireworks on frightened animals,” she wrote. “Stop taking the piss out of concerned owners and have some compassion.”
Rest in peace, Dash. Remember that fireworks aren’t harmless fun—be considerate of how they can affect your neighbors and their pets!
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