Pet dog Lilly was run over early on New Year's Day after being scared by fireworks. Photo / Supplied
Pet dog Lilly was run over early on New Year's Day after being scared by fireworks. Photo / Supplied
A family whose terrified dog was run over on New Year’s Eve after being spooked by fireworks is calling for a community ban on firecrackers.
Brenda Webb says the year has started off on a tragic note and left their family bereft after treasured pooch Lilly became victim of the weekend celebrations.
She said her mother Faye Chappell had spent most of the night trying to comfort the anxious pooch but somehow it escaped through the cat door and over the fence at their Snells Beach property north of Auckland.
“Mum and Ray are kicking themselves. They keep going over the situation saying what if we had done this, what if we had done more? She was comforting Lilly as much as she could,” said Webb.
She said it was a mystery how the pooch managed to escape the yard, and suspects the little dog summoned enormous strength, leaping a large fence that had previously kept her safe for years.
The treasured pet was discovered dead in the middle of a nearby main road after being struck by a vehicle.
Lilly was owner Faye Chappell's constant companion. Photo / Supplied
“I know many will say people should lock their pets away at these times, but sometimes all the care in the world can’t stop a frightened pet trying to escape the danger.
“If fireworks can’t be banned then perhaps we should lobby for a community ban.
“The stress, anxiety, trauma and grief from fireworks needs to stop.
“Unless you have experienced a pet who suffers this level of anxiety you won’t truly understand.”
Chappell said her treasured Shih Tsu poodle was a quivering bundle when fireworks started up on Saturday night.
“She hated the fireworks and you had no idea when they were going to go off. One cracker would set her off.”
“I took my eyes off her for about five minutes and she disappeared.
“She had jumped the fence that we have which she has never been able to do before.
“We thought she wouldn’t go outside but inside under somewhere think that’s where she’ll be but in the meantime she had run up to the main road to get away from the fireworks below us.”
Chappell said family hunted for her all night all the while hoping the private fireworks would die down.
“I kept thinking, ‘just stop so so she can settle and come home’.
She said it wasn’t until daybreak they discovered Lilly had been struck by a car.
Faye Chappell's pet dog Lilly was run over early on New Year's Day after being spooked by fireworks. Photo / Supplied
Chappell was now calling for fireworks to be restricted to public displays for the sake of all pet owners.
“They’re getting louder and it’s getting so bad and there’s more of them. Animals need protecting.”
They had since buried Lilly in a plot in the garden with a rose bush to be planted over the site.
Webb said since posting about the heartbreaking loss on social media there had been many stories shared about people who had also lost pets in similar circumstances.
