Belfast vet prescibed meds in advance to help dogs navigate Halloween fireworks
A Belfast vet says he has successfully helped patients navigate Halloween fireworks by dispensing sedatives to his usual customers weeks in advancea.
Dan Flynn, owner of Balmoral Veterinary Clinic on Stockman’s Lane in Belfast, was speaking to the News Letter after a busy Halloween for the Fire Service, with 89 operation incidents on Saturday and Sunday, including 23 bonfire incidents and six attacks on firecrews with fireworks.
He was speaking after UUP leader Jon Burrows called for a review of fireworks laws in Northern Ireland.
"My wee dog Nancy is petrified at this time of year,” he said on Saturday. “After a great run on the beach this morning, I’m hoping she’ll manage a deep snooze this evening - with help from medication prescribed by our vet. “Preparing for a fireworks display is one thing. Managing days of random bangs that leave pets and livestock terrified is quite another."
Mr Flynn told the News Letter that fireworks distress for pets begins not just on Halloween, but in early October.
"We have had many people come in over the years whose dogs have problems with the fireworks. So a lot of them are looking for meds, not just for the Halloween weekend, but they're looking at because the bangers start early on in October."
Dan spent time at home with his own dog in the Lisburn Road area of Belfast on Saturday night.
"There were absolutely loads of rockets going off everywhere and that dog was fine when it was with us, no problem,” he said.
"But sometimes when they're left on their own, there can be more of an issue.
"Dogs just hear a different wavelength than us, and fireworks can scare them.
"Our dog was sleeping beside us and there was no issue but other dogs would get upset and go into corners and hide.
"To be honest, if we were watching a fireworks spectacular with dogs looking at it, they probably think there are bombs going off everywhere. That's what it seems like to them."
As a result, he has been prescribing a lot of medication in the last few weeks to try and keep pet dogs calm.
"Some dogs need sedation; some dogs are on a little bit of anxiety meds, but I tend to give them a little bit of sedation so that they relax and just go to sleep."
As a result of his proactive work he did not have any dogs coming into the surgery over the weekend in a distressed state.
"It's mostly people trying to give them some medication in advance to settle them, knowing that the fireworks are going to go off on Saturday night."
There are not normally any emergency cases.
"If a dog has a difficult night with the fireworks, you're not going to be going to the vet on Saturday night getting medication unless it spirals into a fit or something like that, but that would be very rare. So most people are prepared for it."
"I think it is about prevention, but that's it over now for this year."
When clients come in asking for meds, he checks their files to see what worked last year.
"Sedative tablets can be quite unpredictable, so if something works for them, we would tend to repeat that."