I support our celebrations! I am a proud American and loyal Oak Harbor resident. I am also a pet owner with a serious concern.

I applaud the city and the chamber for their efforts to have a fireworks display at City Beach on the Fourth! Great Job! Beautiful display!

But, there is another side to the Independence Day celebration; it’s the trauma to our pets. Have you been witness to a dog or cat that is so terrified that they hide or run away from home? Yes, you have the right to celebrate one of our greatest holidays, but do you have the right to set off loud, illegal explosives that traumatize animals?

My poor dog has been sedated for nearly a week. At the first loud report of a firecracker she stops eating, finds the nearest corner or closet, and shakes until her teeth chatter with fear. This lasts until the final boom, several days after the holiday. When you combine the torture to animals with the insanity of the risk to children and adults of life-long, often debilitating and scaring, injuries, what can be the gain?

I live out of town about eight miles. We have been “blessed” with dynamite, M-80’s, and other obviously illegal and obnoxious “fireworks” way into the night. Because we are in a “budget crunch,” there are not enough law enforcement personnel to respond to “non-life threatening” or “nuisance” calls. So these insensitive neighbors get away with filling our world with sounds that keep us up half the night and terrorize our animals. What is the point? I suppose you might call it “money to burn.”

Let’s stop this insanity! Let the city/chamber put on the fireworks downtown, and if you must have fireworks at home make it legal ones and set them off only on the Fourth. Let us live in peace the other 364 days of the year! Our pets would appreciate your compassion.

Linda Haddon

Oak Harbor