The celebration of the Fourth of July is all about our freedom, but while we celebrate there are many of us who dread the day. Owners of pets and livestock must contend with our neighbors’ celebrations that affect many of us in serious ways. I have friends who take camping trips with their horses and dogs, traveling great distances to remove themselves from neighbors that have extensive aerial shows of fireworks purchased on the reservation that are not legal to be used in our neighborhoods. A group of my friends gathered at my country home with their horses and dogs for the Fourth of July, as my neighborhood has a history of no close use of fireworks. Things change!
We are warned ahead of time by the media to get medications for our pets to keep them calm. That would be fine if we only had to contend with the legal noisy fireworks. Thursday night was a nightmare at my home and the homes of my friends. While leading a horse through a gate, a neighbor exploded an aerial firework that caused the horse to bolt, crashing through a gate, jumping and taking down a fence and almost running down a friend. Considerable effort was made to calm the horse with medication and shutting her up in a stall to limit her exposure. The other seven horses were agitated, but relatively calm. Meanwhile we isolated the dogs and medicated most of them.
I explained the situation to my neighbors and asked them to take their fireworks to a safer more distance location. Unfortunately a short time later another neighbor in the same area began a huge display with aerial fireworks. The distance was farther away, an improvement but still problematic. I imagine my neighbors don’t see any reason to stop, because all you have to do is look around and see other people doing the same.
Why do we continue to wink at this problem, and allow illegal fireworks purchased on the reservation to be used off the reservation property? Are the rights of the rest of us to have a calm celebration of the freedoms our country offers, less important than the thrill of illegal fireworks? Can we enforce our laws, and at the same time, cut down on numerous injuries, fires, and the debris that my friends are now cleaning up from their pastures and rooftops this morning as they returned to their homes?
For now many of use anticipate July 4th with dread, instead of the celebration that it should be.
Willow Campbell
Stanwood
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