To never shop at Pets Corner again

[Dacatspjs]

I have a number of pets, I have to say mine aren't that bothered by fireworks, they seem to see the others are alright and all keep each other calm.

I'm not that bothered by neighbours having fireworks. If theyre big organised displays you see the advertising locally so know they might be louder, longer, brighter. If they are in homes then people tend to do what they can and let you know on Facebook. Maybe tighter regulation to stop yobs buying them to throw down the street. But my point is I'm not an expert in the subject and I dont know really whether we need change or not.

But. When you are the CEO of a pet company, making millions from "caring" about pets, I do think it is beyond hypocrisy to have a professional firework show in your garden and not tell animal owners locally so they can prepare.

The company Facebook page is building engagement by posting about the dangers of fireworks, all the while the CEO has a party that resulted in the death of a horse.

I won't be shopping there again, and it was my preferred pet shop.

You can't make millions from pet are and not care about pets. And for me that doesn't mean caring about your own pets, it means caring about all pets.

Some dog owners behave like total antisocial shits. And it gives the rest of us a very bad name.

In my case, I have a little dog who is utterly terrorised by fireworks. I pick up his shit, he’s never walked off lead (unless in dog field) and I don’t take him into shops, with the exception of sometimes pets at home. He doesn’t impact negatively on the public. Ever.

So it sounds like you feel that dog owners are being inconsiderate and selfish, therefore you have decided not to “give a fuck” about their distress when they witness their dog’s suffering. I can kind of understand your logic, even though I don’t agree.
But, genuine question, do you honestly not give a fuck about animals distress? If we remove the owners from the equation. When you think about the fear and panic in pets, wildlife etc, do you honestly not care?

Clearly you have been desensitised. And how do you suggest desensitising a terrified animal? Maybe we can apply the same tactic to desensitising war veterans with PTSD.

I just have a petty attitude to not caring about the owners predicament. I actually don't like that thought of animals suffering believe it or not. I'm sure I've said it before but I honestly believe the majoirty of people that own dogs shouldn't, due to the significant amount of time most dogs spend alone due to the owners being at work. Different for retired or people wfh. But most dog owners have jobs that they go to and leave the dog unattended for extended lengths of time, which is wrong imo.

But it's not the owner's predicament is it? It's the animal's. It's animals who are suffering.

ETA I have a dog, but wfh so am presumably OK. He's also very scared of fireworks to the extent of being medicated for the worst nights - alongside desensitisation and counter conditioning work

Fuck off with your "desensitise your animals" bollocks.
The foal that died didn't have enough time to become desensitised.
There are laws about how close to livestock you can let fireworks off.
What about the horse that suffered horrific burns when a firework landed on her rug which caught fire?
We had a dog that started life in the army in the landmine and bomb disposal units.
Retired from that, retrained as a drug sniffer in prisons.
When we got him he was my partner's gun dog.
Yet he was affected the worse of any of our dogs in over 50 years of being dog owners. Screaming, soiling himself, throwing himself at the walls.
What else could we have done to desensitise him?
We can't be prepared 24/7 to help our animals.
If we could limit the fireworks to organised well publicised events then we'd stand a chance.
Luckily my horses aren't overly bothered, but we haven't had crazy loud fireworks near us.
If you read accounts of young soldiers, most had never been on a horse before, the terror they felt because the horses were literally bolting from fear.

I think he really messed up considering his job, he apparently told some immediate neighbours but clearly not enough. But he’s apologised and reaching out to people, it’s not great but I also think boycotting the shop is not great either, if everyone did the same, it realistically wouldn’t change his life that much if at all, he’s already a millionaire, it would just be a problem for everyone who works at the shops.

I really dislike fireworks, and drones are so cool these days in terms of shows they can put on, but I will still be shopping there, I think boycotts tend to most hurt ordinary workers.

And some people are traumatised fireworks too. Especially the ones that sound like bombs exploding.
Organised public displays are fine and a few sparklers and Roman candles in the garden are ok too but people who have huge displays in their gardens in residential areas are simply selfish

Your annoyance should be with the shops that allow dogs not the owners that take them into them.

You say on another post that most people should not have dogs but surely someone taking their dog out with them and into shops, restaurants etc is a good caring owner?

Me and DH rarely go out without our dog. We think it's great that so many shops now allow dogs and only really have coffee or eat in coffee shops and restaurants that allow dogs.

We went out for a meal last Tuesday evening and the restaurant we went to was pretty crowded and almost every table had a dog. On the way there and then back home we passed 3 other restaurants that don't allow dogs (similar food and prices), 1 was completely empty both times and that other 2 had very few customers. Could be nothing to do with allowing or not allowing dogs but I doubt it. Shops, cafes, restaurants etc have cottoned on to how many people want to take their dogs with them when they go out.

Oh and the breed we have does not moult

You seriously believe the reason 2 restaurants were nearly empty but 1 was full was primarily down to the policy of allowing dogs? It's only marginally above 1 in 3 households in the UK that own dogs. Based on that it's reasonable to assume 1 in 3 of people dining out own dogs (could argue less due to costs associated with owning a dog). So you really believe 2 of 3 people who don't own dogs base their restraurant choice primarily on the restaurants policy of being pet friendly?

I've seen the video and it sounded more like a major artillery battle than a firework display. Noise was way in excess of what anyone would expect or could desensitize for. Let's hope there were no ex forces with PTSD in the area.

Possibly not the reason but the one that allows dogs is nearly always busy even at the beginning of the week which is usually pretty quiet for most eating places. In fact a lot of restaurants don't even open Monday and Tuesday because they don't get custom.

Maybe a lot of dog owners have more money which is why they can afford a dog?

I do know that in my area the places that allow dogs always seem to be much busier than those that don't. A cafe opened at the beginning of this year and did not allow dogs. About 2 months ago they started allowing dogs and, according to the owners, have far more customers now.

Really? What a naive question.

I don’t know where you live, but in no place I’ve visited or lived in the uk have the “majority of dog owners” walked their dogs off lead in town centres- frankly dogs are too expensive for people to be so stupid. Are you perhaps getting dogs mixed up with cats, which many owners do let out to wander, shit in other people’s gardens and kill wildlife? You don’t have to like dogs, and owners should pick up after their pets, but your hyperbole and excuse for lack of empathy is ridiculous.