Teddy Bears and Roman Candles

Happy (day after the) 4th of July, everyone! My sisters and I had a great time shooting off our fireworks. And I just have to tell you the story about getting them.

We drove out to the tent, and because Delilah (my dog) is spoiled rotten, she got to hop in the SUV and come too. Immediately upon getting there she was trying to pull the leash from my hands to go see the family running the register. The mother and daughter were absolutely smitten with her, and the son dubbed her my 'low rider'.

Confused by her enthusiasm to crawl under the woman's lawn chair, she informed me they had a dog as well, and I was introduced to Izzy. Izzy was a young, puppy-cut Maltese. He was so small and so soft, I was struck by the image of a white teddy bear. Once he realized Lilah didn't want to eat him, they began to play around the check-out table. Mom wanted me to come look at fireworks, but everywhere I went, Lilah was tugging me past the selections in search of Izzy, who the daughter was walking around on his leash too. Finally, the mother offered to hold Lilah for me so the dogs could play and I could pick out pyrotechnics.

By the time we got done, Lilah was laying in the gravel beside the family's son as if she were his dog. I'm always excited to see people who love my dog as much as me, but there is always that pang of jealously really avid pet owners get when you're afraid your dog may become attached to someone else, even if it is absurd.

Izzy barked his good byes and the family was impressed by Delilah's ability to leap into the back of Mom's car. We started lighting fireworks just before dark last night, and even though Lilah was thrilled to shop for them, she was not excited to hear them go off. She was, however, very fascinated by the small ones that spin on the ground and spark, and the smoke bombs, and she joined in when we chased down the parachutes. I tied one to her collar and it flapped around when she ran. We laughed hysterically. She didn't even care.

I'll close by saying we had an extremely fun Independence Day. But remember, often dogs and fireworks don't mix. If your canine friend is frightened of the fiery devices or too curious to stay away from the truly dangerous ones, please take great precautions to keep him/her safe.