Call me un-american...

[labell]

I don't care I HATE, HATE fireworks! I hate them, they freak the birds out and please, we are surrounded by woods but that doesn't stop these yahoos all around my house from shooting them off.

Go downtown, fight traffic if you want fireworks. Then again don't even get me started on what towns, cities, large and small spend every year on these ridiculous things. I could make a long list of things that money could buy that would benefit the whole community long term instead of one night. Towns that are barely hanging on spend astronomical amounts on yearly fireworks....just saying....I hate fireworks....

 

[Doublete]

I agree. I dread this day every year.

 

[labell]

I agree. I dread this day every year.

Wow! I didn't think about what this would be like for horses...poor babies!

 

[getwozzy]

Same here. And it's not just tonight-- people do fireworks every night for like a week here. Annoying.

We have to bring the 3 dogs in the house, lock the horse in the stall....last year we had someone come to the field next to us and lit off huge illegal fireworks and our mare tore through the fence and went on an expedition.

My toddler is also terrified of fireworks (watching them), so it's just a really un-enjoyable holiday for everyone at my house.

 

[MyFlock]

I hate them too. If they were in a contained area like a public park and were illegal to shoot off whenever one gets the whim to do so I would be fine with them but where I live it's a free for all! ( basically) it's annoying and brings out the stupid in many people.

New Year's Eve is much more worse here, then it's really crazy and chaotic nonsense! Someone always gets hurt, maimed or killed at New Years unfortunately many of them are small children.

 

[labell]

Here is a good example of the money wasted...I live in a rather small New England town that spent 40 thousand dollars this year. Never mind that we have potholes the size of Rhode Island that's what some of my tax dollars are going to!

Philly....are you ready 2.1 MILLION on fireworks. Seriously!

 

[Doublete]

I agree. I dread this day every year.

Wow! I didn't think about what this would be like for horses...poor babies!

I left the moms and babies in the stall. Also left my valuable two year olds in their stalls.
But my yearlings were out with three older (fairly bombproof) horses. All of them were and are clustered by the gate now asking if they can please come in... Ugh

 

[RavensGryf]

I'm fortunate in that none of my birds or the dog are bothered by the fireworks in the least. But, I do empathize with the many people across the country who do have to take measures (sometimes inconveniently so) in order to keep their pets of all kinds comfortable and feeling safe.

It has been constant boom boom BOOM pop crackle POP bang BOOM here for the past hour, and I expect to still hear some random loud explosions well into the night and early morning as has been the case all week . I'm sure it will continue like Shirre said, for the next week, or even longer. That does make me furious, since as an insomniac, one of my big pet peeves it getting awakened by noise when I'm sleeping!

I admit I do love "seeing" the commercial firework displays, as some are quite beautiful, but I see everyone's point here as well. I live about 10 miles from Disneyland (and Knott's Berry Farm) and every night during summer months, both of these theme parks have fireworks for idk, maybe 20 minutes? Imagine the cost of that!

 

[Doublete]

I actually love the Epcot fireworks at Disney world... So much fun...
But here at home? Not so much

 

[Betrisher]

Try living with an adult autistic child who cannot cope with fireworks! Even the sight of them gives him the heebiejeebies and he sweats and has teeth-chattering chills until they're over (symptoms of shock). We kept horses until fairly recently and I can tell you, it's no fun chasing livestock through the suburbs when illegal fireworks scare them enough to jump fences and escape. Then there's the dog, who whines and howls for the duration because of the pain in her ears and the unfamiliar smell of gunpowder or cordite or whatever the hell the stinking stuff is they use to propel the useless things. The birds go ape and have to be covered with layers of blankets and by the time the 'celebration' is over, my family's a nervous wreck!

Australia spends the most on public fireworks each year: I believe this New Year in Sydney fireworks fiasco cost in excess of four million dollars! Every year, thousands of pets go missing in Sydney because of the noise, flashing lights and disruption caused by crowds milling into the city to 'see the lovely crackers' (we say 'crackers' instead of 'fireworks' here in Darkest Oz). THEN there's the ash fallout which causes asthmatics and other airway-compromised people the most excruciating aftermath as they suck on ineffective puffers and struggle to breathe.

When I think what four million dollars could do for people in serious need, it makes my blood boil! You might as well light up four million bux worth of banknotes! Is it worth it? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!! :22_yikes:

 

[labell]

Try living with an adult autistic child who cannot cope with fireworks! Even the sight of them gives him the heebiejeebies and he sweats and has teeth-chattering chills until they're over (symptoms of shock). We kept horses until fairly recently and I can tell you, it's no fun chasing livestock through the suburbs when illegal fireworks scare them enough to jump fences and escape. Then there's the dog, who whines and howls for the duration because of the pain in her ears and the unfamiliar smell of gunpowder or cordite or whatever the hell the stinking stuff is they use to propel the useless things. The birds go ape and have to be covered with layers of blankets and by the time the 'celebration' is over, my family's a nervous wreck!

Australia spends the most on public fireworks each year: I believe this New Year in Sydney fireworks fiasco cost in excess of four million dollars! Every year, thousands of pets go missing in Sydney because of the noise, flashing lights and disruption caused by crowds milling into the city to 'see the lovely crackers' (we say 'crackers' instead of 'fireworks' here in Darkest Oz). THEN there's the ash fallout which causes asthmatics and other airway-compromised people the most excruciating aftermath as they suck on ineffective puffers and struggle to breathe.

When I think what four million dollars could do for people in serious need, it makes my blood boil! You might as well light up four million bux worth of banknotes! Is it worth it? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!! :22_yikes:

4 MILLION WOW and here I thought it was just our stupid government that loved to waste money! I agree when I think what that kind of money could do yearly for a community I get very upset!

How awful for your son, would he wear ear-plugs or do you think that not being able to hear because of the earplugs would scare him?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Last night was sheer HELL for my Oscar (and us, too). They started shooting things off before 8PM and didn't stop until well past 11PM. It wasn't non-stop, but it was often enough for my Oscar to be trembling severely. I so worry about him when he gets like this.

He blew half his coat on the carpet. Incessant drool, panting, heart beating a mile a minute. We had all windows and doors shut, the AC on, and the TV much louder than usual, but when it's your next door neighbors doing most of the fireworks, there really is no escaping it.

We have one of these hand-held jiu jitsu massage thingies, which he LOVES, but even that didn't calm him down nearly enough.

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful!

I'm sleep deprived and cranky because of it, and afraid they'll start all over again tonight.

 

[labell]

Last night was sheer HELL for my Oscar (and us, too). They started shooting things off before 8PM and didn't stop until well past 11PM. It wasn't non-stop, but it was often enough for my Oscar to be trembling severely. I so worry about him when he gets like this.

He blew half his coat on the carpet. Incessant drool, panting, heart beating a mile a minute. We had all windows and doors shut, the AC on, and the TV much louder than usual, but when it's your next door neighbors doing most of the fireworks, there really is no escaping it.

We have one of these hand-held jiu jitsu massage thingies, which he LOVES, but even that didn't calm him down nearly enough.

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful!

I'm sleep deprived and cranky because of it, and afraid they'll start all over again tonight.

Poor Oscar! Have I said I HATE fireworks!!!!

 

[getwozzy]

Our GSD, Bella, ran away New Year's Eve because of fireworks ....last night I took the dogs out one by one for their last potty trip of the night, but Bella heard one firework and NOPE. NOT GONNA PEE. I couldn't even get her off the back deck, poor thing :/ thankfully it's hard to hear the fireworks inside the house with all our fans going-- except for the big booms [emoji51]

 

[ChocoboFun]

Whats an illegal firework? Where I'm from, if you can make it, its legal!

On a more serious note, this is more of an issue with overcrowding. Stuck living in a city? You probably hate this holiday. Live out in the boonies where your nearest neighbor is >1 mile away? It is no longer a problem. I can't wait to live out in the countryside again.

 

[getwozzy]

We live on the outskirts of town, and it's STILL a problem-- even the next town over that's a ways away, we can still hear their fireworks show....I wish we lived further out

"Illegal" fireworks in our state are the big ones- mortars, Roman candles, bottle rockets, m80s, m100s, cherry bombs, and definitely homemade ones lol

 

[Scott]

I'm not a fan either! My birds seem to tolerate the noise, but my Great Dane is terribly phobic and struggles to hide below a bed. I've learned to put her in an interior walk-in closet and position a noisy air-cleaner nearby for some "white noise."

With all of our technology, it might be better to have light and laser shows, though they will never match the perceived grandeur of pyrotechnics. As far as I'm concerned, viewing one spectacular fireworks show is enough for the rest of my life!

 

[Kiwibird]

I'm quite lucky in the fact Kiwi could care less (the world could be ending and he'd sleep through it lol) and the noise doesn't bother me much either. I'm still not a huge fan of them though. I do like the colors and prettiness of them, but I think in this economy the big displays are a waste of public money and the ones you can buy are just dangerous in the hands of (often drunk) people who have no idea how to use them safely (or the sense not to set them off from 8pm to 2am like we had here last night because people have small children who might not be up so late).

 

[Betrisher]

Wendy, you can try using earplugs on Oscar (poor baby). Not every dog will tolerate them (my Rox won't), but the plastic mouldable ones are the best for blocking out all sound. I'm told it helps if the dog will wear them.

My son can't tolerate ear plugs. Also, he is aware that it's not particularly grown up to make a fuss, so he tries to suffer in silence. Being his Mum, I know what he's going through anyway (the chattering teeth give it away every time).

I live in Australia and private use of fireworks is illegal everywhere except in Canberra, the national capital. I dunno why that is, it just is. Anyone who wants to stage a public fireworks display has to apply for a permit (not easily granted). Sadly, our local council has a fireworks display in the park a block away from our place every January (Australia Day). Even sadder, the Sydney City Council is granted such a permit every year to stage its massive fireworks display on the Harbour Bridge. How profoundly glad I am that I don't live in Waverton or Milson's Point or anywhere near the bridge! (I live about a hundred miles away).

If you think about the trouble we all take over our birds, trying to protect them from various kinds of fumes and fallout, just imagine the effect of the fireworks fallout on the scale of the Sydney Harbour display! There are countless thousands of native parrots that live in greater Sydney, not to mention songbirds and native bats: all are subject to the fear and the fallout! And then, of course, there's the fish in the Harbour and hundreds of hectares of native vegetation - oh and the human beings who get ashed on willynilly. It's just a disaster from beginning to end. IMHO.

OK. Rant over. I feel better now...

 

[thekarens]

Last night was sheer HELL for my Oscar (and us, too). They started shooting things off before 8PM and didn't stop until well past 11PM. It wasn't non-stop, but it was often enough for my Oscar to be trembling severely. I so worry about him when he gets like this.

He blew half his coat on the carpet. Incessant drool, panting, heart beating a mile a minute. We had all windows and doors shut, the AC on, and the TV much louder than usual, but when it's your next door neighbors doing most of the fireworks, there really is no escaping it.

We have one of these hand-held jiu jitsu massage thingies, which he LOVES, but even that didn't calm him down nearly enough.

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful!

I'm sleep deprived and cranky because of it, and afraid they'll start all over again tonight.

You might try a thunder shirt. I've never tried one, but I know a couple people who have and swear by them.