Fireworks at a home south of Olympia on the third of July 2018

Instead of titling this post “Shooting Fireworks” I should have probably titled it something along the lines of “How I Enjoy Fireworks Has Changed Because Of My Dog”

I have always loved fireworks displays.  If you looks though my gallery here on this site you will see a handful of fireworks images I have captured over the years but I have thousands of images of fireworks in my Lightroom catalog.  Loving fireworks and loving photography tends to lead to my creating a lot of images of fireworks.  As much as I love fireworks though, the way I have enjoyed them has changed quite a bit over the last few years, and that is because I love my dog more than I love fireworks.

My dog Ursa, which is half german shepherd and half chow, just turn 9 years old.  Over the last 3 or 4 years she has developed a pretty severe fear of loud noises.  Simply put, fireworks are very hard on her and she becomes something of a “basket case” when our neighbors start celebrating the 4th of July.

I’m not one of those people though that get mad at my neighbors for celebrating in the way that they see fit.  If my dog weren’t terrified of loud booms I would be one of those people out there lighting off fire crackers and bottle rockets, in addition to attending every one of the large municipal displays in the area, but since she is terrified of them, I spend most of those evenings at home doing my best to calm her.

Over the last couple years the furthest we have ventured to watch fireworks is about a mile down the road where one of our neighbors celebrate on the 3rd of July by having a fireworks display at their house.  This image, as is this one from last year, is from their “private” fireworks display.

Someday, when Ursa is no longer with us, we will go back out and enjoy the large fireworks celebrations, but until then I will enjoy her company when ever one else is celebrating and I will celebrate having the unconditional love of my dog. :-)

While not quite a puppy any longer, we still call her a puppy and she like chewing on sticks

Ok, Oly might not be a puppy any longer, she turned three last labor day, but we still think of her as a puppy, and probably always will.  One thing that hasn’t changed since she really was a puppy is that she absolutely loves chewing on sticks.

Oly, and our older dog Ursa, have it pretty good.  They have 2 acres of fenced yard that they have free run of.  If I had to make a guess, there are probably a few dozen toys scattered around on our property.  These always seem to start as indoor toys but somehow manage to find their way outside.  The funny thing though is that even though all those toys seem to find their way outside both dogs generally end up chewing on sticks for fun.