Casting a Shadoe on Fireworks: Eliminate the sale and use of Fireworks in our country

Sunday, 03 November 2013, a day that will remain forever in my heart and a night I wish I could forget. Sunday was a great day, looking back at it now, God knew what was to be, and ensured that it would be a day I would never forget, and sealed the bond between Shadoe and myself.

I lay by the pool tanning, Shadoe lying at my side, I found her new brush and collar and brushed her down, hugging her and loving her. We had a family braai, and Shadoe lay at our feet.

That evening around 19:45 I was leaving to go to the shop, and Shadoe would not let me out the gate, she would not leave me alone, and I found her behaviour strange, but thought nothing of it. I was gone for 10 minutes and when I returned Shadoe was at the gate waiting for me. She would not let me in my flat, she stood between me and the security gate and my first thought was there was someone in the flat and she was trying to protect me.

When I went upstairs to my parents house (we live on the same property), she was right at my side and came in the house with me and started breathing heavily. I noticed the sound of the fireworks, they were getting louder and louder and happening more frequently. My cats ran into the house as well, frantic and their ears were pinned against their heads. I realised that Shadoe was behaving like this because of the fireworks. I called my dad to help me, told him something was wrong with her. He called her to the garden but she would not leave my side, she would not listen to anyone, she just stayed with me.

I asked my dad to please bring her bed into the flat for me and she would sleep in the flat by me so I could calm her down and keep her safe. Her breathing became worse, I tried to give her water but she would not drink so I kept wetting her mouth so she wouldn’t dehydrate. I gave her some food and she ate it, which gave me some peace of mind. Her breathing continued to get worse, and I lay next to her holding her, and soothing her, wiping her mouth as she was drooling badly.

I began to panic as she wasn’t calming down, I phoned Panorama Veterinary Clinic and spoke to the vet, she told me to soothe her, that she was in distress and if I had rescue remedy I must give it to her as it would help calm her down. She told me to stroke her, reassure her and just be with her, and she would eventually calm down. I did all of this, and it did not help. Her breathing just got worse and worse.

A dog on the same day in deep distress, clearly terrified, her heart rate and respiratory rate spiralling. I told my parents I need to get her to the vet, she needed a tranquiliser to calm her down, because the more the fireworks were going off the more distressed she was becoming. The fireworks had been going on for two hours at this stage.

I continued to hold her, tried blocking her ears, and kept wiping her mouth. She tried to stand up and had a heart attack, it was quick, it was instant, and my dog collapsed and died in front of me. My Shadoe girl was gone and I couldn’t do anything to help her. She was lying in my flat, next to me and she was dead.

My parents came down to the flat, they could not believe that she was dead, they thought maybe she had a seizure, but this was not the case. Shortly after her death, the fireworks stopped, two and a half hours later. Too little too late.

I had the task of telling my 8 year old son that his beloved dog, his sister, was gone. That because of the fireworks, she had a heart attack, her body had gone into shock and there was nothing we could do. He is heartbroken, he is battling to understand why this has happened. He wants the people who are responsible for the death of his dog to pay, I agree with my son, the people responsible for my Shadoe’s death, need to be held accountable.

I did not phone the police, to be completely honest, the thought never crossed my mind, my one and only concern was my dog, and trying to calm her down and keep her safe. I feel like I have failed her, and the tears don’t stop, I did everything I possibly could, yet I could not save her.

If there were no fireworks on Sunday evening, Shadoe would still be with us, my child would be happy and smiling, and my heart would not be broken.

As I write this, I am certain people are getting ready to let off their fireworks for Guy Fawkes, a holiday that we don’t even celebrate in this country. How many animals will die tonight, die a senseless death. How many animals will be injured by fireworks, injured to the point where they have to be put down. How many animals will be terrorised, be in distress, run away from home, never be the same as they were a few days ago?

Fireworks need to be made illegal, banned, forget about designated areas, there are no designated areas, people do as they please, they need to make these fireworks classed as a weapon and ban them.

As I write this, so many people had two and a half hours of entertainment on Sunday, for me, my son and my family, we are left with a lifetime of heartache. Where is the justification in that?