Good morning Representative Farry and Senator Phillips-Hill,

I hope you both are enjoying your summer!  I have recently seen different articles and mentions on various outlets of social media that you both are possibly considering reversal of the fireworks portion of HB542.  I have seen your names more than once mentioned which is why I’m writing to you.  Rep Farry, I know you are aware of me as I wrote the initial language for the animals in cars legislation mimicking the Pittsburgh ordinance I wrote.  I was happy to see its passage and thank you for your work to get it there.

I’m writing to you today to offer to testify, as I have a few times before for both the House and the Senate) should you need support from someone who lost their beloved dog due to severe noise phobia just two weeks ago.  Crosby was a 7 year old dog that I rescued while working on an HSUS dog fighting raid in Kalamazoo Michigan back in August of 2012.  I brought him and 6 others dogs back to Pittsburgh to work on their rehabilitation.  My daughter fell in love with Crosby and adopted him and made him the most beloved dog ever. I shudder to think what his life COULD have been.  Last year during the 4th of July “season” he developed a phobia due to the never ending fireworks and the newly available “neighborhood fireworks.” It moved from fireworks to other loud noises and when he was too over the top he would redirect on my son in law in the form of a bite.  99% of the time Crosby was the sweetest dog, it was that 1% when there were fireworks that cost him his life.  We hired a very good veterinarian who specializes in behavior and behavior modification along with meds.  As you can imagine this was costly but this was our beloved boy.  We had one more incident around New Year’s another bite to my son in law after more fireworks in a time of year that they were never intended for. Fast forward to this year, the neighborhood sounded like a war zone.  We had talked with the vet who doubled Crosby’s dosage to help him get through this.  It was just too much for Crosby, it was clear he was in a place that was over the top given his noise phobia.  You would think after two bites to a person that he loved dearly the dog would be euthanized.  He was just too sweet so we kept working with him.  On the morning of July 5th, my daughter, myself and my son in law made the horrific decision that at the age of 7 years old, the noise phobia and his reaction to it was too severe and unsafe, and he was euthanized at home in my daughter and son in law’s arms.  His quality of life and trying to deal with the noise was just too much and we let him go to peace.

To say this was heartbreaking for us is an understatement.  Dogs know when thunder is coming, they know by the wind, they sense the change in barometric pressure, they hear it in the distance, it’s still scary but they get warning.  A firework give us no warning, it’s like a person coming up behind you and banging two pans together as loud as they can.  Dogs ears are MUCH more sensitive and keen than ours are so to them it’s scarier and louder than a noise by surprise is to us.  I know how much my family has suffered, I can only imagine those of veterans with PTSD, and as one fire chief stated, “I’ll never accept grant money from this legislation, it’s blood money.”  I have to agree with that statement.

In closing I hope you will read a blog I wrote two years ago about fireworks and their true intent by John Adams.  I also hope you will move forward with any legislation to reverse and I will help you however you may need me to.  I know you will have incredible support from the “animal community” and from EMS workers, firefighters, ER physicians, and veterans who deserve better from us for what they gave to our country.

Sincerely,

Mary