Cork charity warns about the impact fireworks have on guide dogs

A CORK based charity is warning that some guide dogs have been forced to retire following heartbreaking incidents involving the use of Halloween fireworks.

Nicky Kealy, who is on the board for the Model Farm Road-based charity Irish Guide Dogs from the Blind, spoke of how they are on high alert ahead of next week’s Halloween celebrations. He acknowledged the catastrophic psychological effects of fireworks on some guide dogs in recent years which resulted in a percentage being temporarily separated from their owners and even retiring.

Mr Kealy added that guide dogs have gone into boarding in the past to avoid any dangers associated with Halloween.

It comes more than a month after the launch of an awareness campaign by Minister of State James Browne warning against the misuse of fireworks.

The initiative was carried out in collaboration with Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) and Dublin Fire Brigade.

“The anxiety fireworks can cause for the partnership — the guide dog owner and the dog themselves — is immense,” Mr Kealy said. 

“This is particularly the case in built up areas where firework activity is more prevalent. Unfortunately, they have to withdraw some dogs as a result of this. Others had to retire. We have had situations where guide dogs have to be temporarily boarded away from the guide dog owner which is traumatic for both parties. They have to be separated to help their anxiety and to assure they are not exposed to too much firework activity. I am a guide dog owner myself and am all too aware of the dangers.”

He spoke of the potential financial implications for the charity.

“We are trying to incorporate more desensitisation into our training at the moment. A guide dog’s hearing is 100 times better than our own. This means the noise is amplified making for a very traumatic experience. Currently if a dog is withdrawn, their owner could face a lengthy time to get a new dog. That match has to be specific to a person’s needs. The current cost of training a guide dog is €53,000 so retiring a dog comes at a huge cost to the organisation.”

Meanwhile, Seamus Kelly from Youghal said that he and his guide dog Joy will be confined to indoors this year to avoid the risks associated with Halloween.

“It’s the fact that they can hear something going from A to B and they don’t know where it’s going to land that really frightens the dog,” he explained. 

“I keep her in the kitchen with me, away from fireworks. This is a crazy time of year and I just don’t see any positives in Halloween. Many will say this is just teenagers having fun but they are disrupting people trying to make their way around. I always have to be aware this time of year that Joy is not out the back and she is indoors. I keep her in after dark and make sure she is with me so she doesn’t react.”

Joy’s lack of opportunities to socialise during the Covid-19 pandemic left her even more sensitive to these challenges.

“Joy was over two when I got her. Because of Covid she didn’t have the positive influence of being around other dogs. That’s our experience.”

He stressed that Halloween can be a particularly worrying time for many.

“I am lucky in that I have never been affected but I have friends who have been pelted with eggs and made to feel very vulnerable. It can be a very silly and irrational time.”