Remember our pets don't like fireworks

Wow! Hundreds of people enjoyed the spectacular fireworks at Opoutere on Friday night. BTG 30Oct14 - A_041113SP09CN BIG BANG: A scene from a past fireworks event at Opoutere. This year's event wi

AROUND the time fireworks go on sale, newspapers contemplate running the standard safety messages about using fireworks and being a bit more thoughtful about animals at this time.

The pet aspect is probably worth repeating. Last year we ran a story about a dog so terrified of fireworks he chewed through two cat doors in an effort to escape the noise. Some animals are indifferent, but most are not, and it's not fair to leave them in a terrified and bewildered state.

But in terms of safety among people, I'm rather of the inclination that if you haven't figured out how to use fireworks safely by now, safety tips from a newspaper aren't going to save you.

I certainly am in favour of safety messages in situations where the human race is prone to hurting or killing itself.

The excellent safety advertisements around dangerous driving, particularly the stop-motion ad running now, is a good example. The idea of two drivers being in the wrong, creating a fatal situation through a combination of small mistakes, is a great visual because we all make minor mistakes when driving.

Thankfully, fireworks injuries are rare, and I guess that's why we don't see graphic advertising showing what could go wrong when fireworks go bad.

People killing themselves on the road is all too common, and it is right we dramatically show how badly that can go wrong.

Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an advertisement of a child being blinded or a finger blown off, just to drive the point home.

But I think the reality is fireworks are more of a nuisance in terms of noise and starting fires, rather than taking up space in the Emergency Department.

The days when you used to combine poha firecrackers with tape to create gigantic bombs are long gone. They were somewhat lethal - but we were a lot more careful back then.

Your pets are another matter - and that's not counting the situations of animal cruelty involving fireworks, which is despicable.

Keep your pets indoors, keep them safe and calm, and close all windows and doors.