A woman's Facebook post has gone viral this week after her 18-week-old puppy died from a heart attack due to the loud noises caused by fireworks.
A woman called Susan Paterson took to a public Facebook group called Wombwell Wise: a community group for people living in the South Yorkshire town in England.
Paterson shared an image of the black labrador puppy, which had been so frightened of the racket made by the fireworks over Halloween and Diwali, that it had gone into cardiac arrest and died.
Paterson captioned the post: "Due to the enormous amount of fireworks with loud bangs going off around Wombwell and lower Darfield last night, we lost a young terrier with a heart attack. Please think of the animals. Molly was only 18 weeks old and died of FRIGHT caused by fireworks. Please support FAB Anti Random Fireworks page.
She also shared a petition on Change.org - which nearly half a million people have now signed - asking for tougher legislation to prevent loud fireworks from frightening any more dogs in the future.
The petitions states: "Fireworks can cause serious distress to animals. They don’t only suffer psychologically, but also physically as many attempt to run away from, or hide from, the bangs."
Watch this heartbreaking video of a frightened dog shaking over the noise of fireworks:It continues: "With extreme noise levels and people being able to let off fireworks any time of year, it’s difficult for those who care for animals to be able to put measures in place to protect their animals. This is why I’m calling for an urgent review of firework regulations to further restrict their use, as a step to preventing needless animal suffering."
It adds: "Around 40 per cent of dogs are fearful of loud noises such as fireworks, meaning thousands of animals’ lives are made a misery by random fireworks, some starting in early October in the run-up to Guy Fawkes night and continuing until the following January."
"Every year the RSPCA receives hundreds of calls about the terrible effect fireworks are having on animals - not just dogs and cats, but other pets, livestock, and wildlife."
"There are also frequent reports of horses harming themselves by crashing into stable doors and over fences. These poor animals don’t understand what is causing the loud bangs and bright flashes."
If you want to keep your dog stress-free during firework displays, then pleased keep your pet indoors, and try switching on the TV or play some music to help to muffle the sound. Close the curtains or draw the blinds to block out any flashing lights from outside, and make sure you're stroking your dog and comforting them to help them stay calm.