Are you prepared for the 4th of July?

[The Outlaw]

I hate this weekend. I love fireworks, when properly done by professionals away from homes. However, last year was a nightmare. Seems that every man in a 10 mile radius seemed to think their pyrotechnics are were the best. In fact, I think there was absolute competition amongst them.

I live in constant fear of a missplaced rocket setting the roof on fire. The dog is terrified and the birds are very nervous the entire night.

I keep carriers up and ready to got just in case, but the reality is with 10 birds, I probably won't be able to save all of them in an emergency.

Because the big bird carriers are so bulky, I made up a new invention last year. I call them Safe T Saks. They are canvas bags with a screened opening and a locking drawstring. They are really an improved version of the old pillow case idea but safer and better constructed. I know I can carry MANY drawstrings in each hand whereas I could only actually carry two large carriers at anytime. I even created pop up verstions for the small and medium sized parrots. I re-designed the pop up hampers and added a drawstring collar.

The problem with pillowcases is actually keeping the parrot from destroying them or suffocating during the panic. By making the bottoms of mine rectangular and adding the screened window, that is less likely to happen.

In any event, if you have birds and you live in the States, you need to be ready to grab and run should you be the recipient of an unexpected fireworks induced fire.

Macaws are big and when they get scared you don't have a lot of options. Be sure to train your birds to step up EVERYTIME. Not just when they feel like it.

Happy 4th of July.

[Irish]

Oh, MAN! The 4th of July is SO NOT my favorite holiday....

Imagine 11 dogs. Every single one of them terrified out of their minds of fireworks (and thunder, for that matter). Imagine several of them actually tearing chunks off the walls (or siding, if they happen to be outside when an unexpected firework goes off) in their panic, even drugged with naturopathic meds and benadryl (I can't afford to take all 11 of them to the vet for sedatives, at $45 per office call + meds per dog!). Imagine living on a wooded lot, surrounded by other wooded lots. Imagine the people one block over or across the street in every direction having gone over to Washington to buy flying or huge or other fireworks that are illegal here in Oregon. Imagine them ALL setting them off every night for 2 weeks. Imagine how hot it's been here (it was in the 100's 2 days this week, and the 90's and 80's the rest of the week).

Can you just imagine how much I DON'T like this holiday, and how much I fear the idiots with the flying, pounding, noisy fireworks, but not half a brain among the whole lot of them? No one seems to care about other peoples' animals, or the extreme fire hazard the fireworks present....

I truly wish that ALL fireworks were illegal to regular people, and that only municipalities could set them off. I HATE the 4th of July!

Now see what you've gone and done? Got me all in a dither. *grins*

[felisdomesticus]

wow those bags look great. You are so handy!

I can't remember what Scarlett thought of the neighborhood's highly illegal fireworks display last year. It was late at night and she was in her cage and covered. I don't think she made a sound, though.

This year she has a larger cage that I don't cover at night. I will make it a point to close her blinds though so she doesn't get freaked out by the flashes.

[Irish]

Here's what we do for the dogs (and the birds, this year):

Make sure everyone is locked safely in the house--the most destructive, panicky dogs go into crates. Drug every dog with a naturopathic anti-stress formula and Benadryl. Turn on some soothing music somewhat loud. Cover every bird, close every curtain. Turn on the telly, w/out the volume on, so the humans can watch the fireworks, 'cause we sure as hey can't go out to see them in person!! Keep everyone out of the room with the telly on, so that flashes don't bother them.

And pray hard that no one sets the Douglas fir forest we live in on fire.

Stay awake all freakin' night, listening to fireworks pound, dogs howl, and pieces of our walls get torn up, 'cause there are more terrified dogs than we have crates, and no matter where we put the others, there's a wall they can get to in every single room. Then Z goes to work the next morning, tired, worn out, and with the knowledge that when he comes home we'll be patching up torn bits of lath and plaster walls. It's so much fun....

Ok--where are MY sedatives?

Sure wish I had some, about now :-).

[felisdomesticus]

do you have a basement? Is it finished? Ours is unfinished so we have cinder block walls all the way around. Could they stay down there that night?

Doesn't the Benadryl knock them out? I have been known to slip one on occasion to a truly out-of-control puppy in the middle of the night. They sleep like babies until morning.

[Irish]

No, we don't have a basement. The house used to, but the house was moved to the current lot about 10 years ago, and they didn't dig a basement at this location (the water table is pretty high). Only a crawl space, I'm afraid. It's weird, 'cause the light fixtures that hang from what used to be the basement ceiling are still there. Z bumps into them sometimes when he's working on wiring for the servers or whatever....

No, the Benadryl doesn't knock them out at the doses the vet says to use. It slows them down, some, that's it.

[Lisa B]

We are very close to the action here. But we were in north Jersey too. I think My birds are used to the noise. I even have a picture of Sydney looking out the window watching the fireworks when we lived up north. I'll have to find it. He was trying to catch the colors in the sky......

[Lisa B]

Sydney watching the fireworks at our old house....not the best pic...but ya get the idea.

[bekfreak]

So cute. :) I wonder what was going through Sydney's mind as he was watching them. :)

[Zoe's Mom]

My GGC heard her first fireworks tonight. Poor thing jumped off the top of her cage and with every boom jumped straight in the air trying to fly away. It took me what seemed like forever to get her off the floor. When I finally did, she ran right up my arm and hid under my hair at the base of my neck. It took me almost 5 mins to calm her down. Right away I went around and closed all the windows and put the airconditioner on so she wouldnt have to hear them again. I have decided to stay closed up till it's all over. She is now in her house sleeping like a baby. All I hope is she doesnt have a night fright.