A dog owner had to put her beloved pet down after the animal suffered a stroke, believed to have been caused by fireworks going off during the night.
Lucy Gell, 56, had been using a radio to mask the sound of the fireworks, but said whippet Betsy was discovered in danger once the family went to bed.
“We were in bed, the radio was off and she had an adverse reaction to the fireworks,” he said.
‘We heard the other dogs barking and went downstairs. She was very distressed and had lost the use of one of her hind legs. His tongue had turned white.
Gell, from New Mills, Derbyshire, took the dog to an emergency vet in Macclesfield, Cheshire, on the night of October 26, who told her the blood supply to Betsy’s leg had stopped due to a stroke.
This subsequently led to the complete loss of its legs and the animal was euthanized on October 27.
Gell said her dog had “lost the use of one of his back legs and his tongue had turned white from loss of circulation” after a night terrified by fireworks.
Gell called for a change to fireworks laws following the tragic loss of her dog, Betsy.
Under current law, anyone over the age of 18 can purchase fireworks and light them until 11 p.m., or 1 a.m. on Bonfire Night, New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year or Diwali. .
Gell, a puppet animator, asked people to consider the impact of unorganized fireworks in the wake of her tragedy.
She said: “It’s the randomness that people can just buy them and let them explode at any time.”
Gell said Betsy was a healthy dog, but her reaction to fireworks was “getting worse.”
“Betsy wasn’t always afraid of fireworks; she’s only been in the last few years when she’s gotten older,” he said.
After her partner spent “a lot of time” with their pets, Gell followed him downstairs and told him how she saw Betsy “crying, distraught and restless.”
She said: “It was very clear that he had lost the use of one of his hind legs and his tongue had turned white from the loss of circulation.” I spent a couple of hours with her. She calmed down and fell asleep, so we went to bed.’
But the worst would come the next morning.
I found her in the kitchen, lying next to the back door. There was poop all over the floor and he couldn’t use either of his legs.
‘We called the emergency vet and took her in immediately. “They couldn’t do anything for her, they had to put her to sleep,” he said.
“There was nothing we could do, so we had to make the decision to put her to sleep. It was heartbreaking,” she said.
‘It’s just the circumstances, the problem was the fireworks. I don’t mind organized displays, but the randomness is that people can just buy them and there’s no legislation that says they can explode at any time.’
Gell called for a change in the law to limit the availability of fireworks.
‘When I was a kid in the 1970s and 1980s, (Bonfire Night) was about fireworks that were pretty; It was a nice social event, gathered around a fire with sparklers. Now it’s just noise, loud bangs.
“Fireworks manufacturers meet the demand: people want fireworks that explode in the sky, but what you have to remember is that animal hearing is much more sensitive than that of humans. Even small shocks affect a dog or a cat.
‘I think the 11pm limit is unacceptable; Not everyone wants to hear it. People should tell their neighbors if they are going to set off fireworks.
“I think a change in the law is necessary so that fireworks are not so widely available. You can buy them once you are 18, but a lot of people are still too immature. I think the minimum age should be raised to 25.”
Gell worked on the 1996 Tim Burton film Mars Attacks!, starring Jack Nicholson, and the BBC animated children’s series Brambly Hedge, from the same era.
The artist, who later became a puppet animator and worked at shops including Noddy, Postman Pat and Bob the Builder, urged people to be aware of the effects fireworks can have on pets and people with sleep disorder. post-traumatic stress disorder, including veterans.
Carrie Stones, RSPCA campaign director, said the charity is behind a push to change fireworks laws, including a push for light shows, drone displays and limiting the volume of fireworks to 90 decibels.
‘For people with pets, the stress and anxiety around fireworks season can lead to resentment and more than half of people tell us they fear them because of the impact it has on them and their animals.
‘We have seen reports and videos of people showing dogs shaking, gasping in fear and trying to hide. We’ve seen horses bouncing off the walls of their stalls during fireworks shows.
“That’s why we want to see changes to the fireworks legislation.”
Gell, who sells her original prints online, said Betsy appears in many of her works.
Fireworks in London, November 2. Charities have joined Ms Gell in calling for a change to the law.
A deer found next to a cliff in Aberdeenshire with “catastrophic injuries” was also probably spooked by fireworks, experts have warned in the latest case of its kind.
The animal was found alive at the foot of the cliffs in Crovie, Aberdeenshire, on Sunday, suffering from a “badly fractured jaw and multiple leg fractures”.
New Arc Wildlife Rescue, a charity based in the area, was called to the scene but sadly had to put the deer down due to the severity of its injuries.
After speaking to members of the public who reported hearing fireworks, charity staff believe the animal became “frightened” by the sounds, ran away and fell over the edge of the cliff.
“With a badly fractured jaw and multiple leg fractures, it was clear the deer had fallen from the cliffs above,” a New Arc Wildlife representative said.
“Unfortunately, due to the extent of the injuries, we had no choice but to immediately end the deer’s suffering.”
“While we can only speculate as to what caused the deer to fall off the cliff, members of the public present at the scene claimed that there was a fireworks event adjacent to the incident site the previous night which may have spooked the deer.
“As it is not common to find deer that have fallen from a height, it is clear that something would have scared the deer into falling over the edge.
“Fireworks can be problematic for vulnerable members of society as well as pets, livestock and wildlife.”
The charity has now urged the public to get involved in “fantastic” campaigns to tackle the unregulated use of fireworks.
