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So my dog is getting older (about 13 years now) and I wasn't sure he was going to make it through the 4th. Every year on the 4th and again on New Years (plus any thunderstorm days) my dog gets so scared but I really didn't think he'd make it through yesterday. I thought he'd have a heart attack in my arms.

Do any of you have dogs like that? Nevertheless, today is a great day because he woke me up again needing to go out and do his business.

Yes, I have a Lab/Shepard mix that quivers and cowers and whimpers through both lightning storms and fireworks. Got him one of those anxiety vests and it seems to help some, but he's still a mess till it's all over.

Luckily he seems to have a short trauma memory, he's happy as usual the next day.

Few subject evoke more passion from me than fireworks. IMO they ought to be completely banned, and the discomfort and anxiety they cause animals are IMO a secondary concern. A much greater concern is the threat they pose to both personal as well as property safety, especially in the area in which I live. IMO the sale and possession of all fireworks, from firecrackers to sparklers, should be banned except to those that are licensed and discharged by permit only.

A few summers ago, some teenage kids were shooting fireworks off in the Eagle Creek area on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge. It started a fire that burned for 3 months before consuming 50,000 acres of pristine forest. That's roughly the same area as the city of Boise. I'll never forget an accident that happened in my home town decades ago when two boys in the 10-12 year old range were playing with fireworks in their parents garage and caught a gasoline can on fire. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition.

There's plenty of entertainment options available, and I don't see that the very short term thrill of fireworks exploding trumps the huge risk to human life and valuable real estate.

My dog doesn't give a rip about fireworks or thunder, and I admit to a certain nostalgia for them, but I wouldn't have any problem with them being limited to 'pro-only' displays due to the risk.