With just a few days to go until the 4th of July, the people of the United States are rooting for a day off, some hot dogs and, of course, some fantastic fireworks. At least people are looking forward to it.
While Independence Day is a fun holiday, it can be a nightmare for dogs who fear fireworks. There will be some anxious puppies and concerned owners trying to calm them down. But an incredibly cool dog is proof that you and your dog can spend your vacation carefree.
On July 4, 2016, a 6-year-old Golden Retriever named Joey was surprised by the fireworks that broke out at his California home.
His owner, Emily Kuang, was not surprised by the behavior of her dog.
“They are afraid of cats and loud noises,” Emily told Buzzfeed News, describing him as “a big dog, but also a big baby.”
Joey was so scared that he broke the rules by climbing onto Emily’s parents’ bed. To calm him down, her mother fitted him with noise-blocking headphones and connected them to a Chinese messaging app on her iPad.
It worked like a charm and Joey went from total panic mode to the kind of stress-free relaxation most of us can only dream of:
he's scared of the fireworks so my mom put on some dog videos for him ❤️ pic.twitter.com/VTjYa6YIcK
— emily (@spaghemily) July 5, 2016
Who hasn’t gotten into bed, put on headphones, and hasn’t been distracted?
Joey apparently hit a nerve online: After Emily shared the video on her Twitter, Joey’s Metime was viewed over 6 million times and shared over 116,000 times.
“My friend’s sister retweeted it and it got a decent following, and from then on it just blew up,” Emily said.
Fortunately, Joey didn’t have to worry much for the next year. In 2017, Emily said that the fireworks weren’t too bad. Creating a safe and relaxing space for her dog is one of the tips the American Kennel Club suggests for dealing with your dogs without fireworks.
They also suggest desensitizing your dog to fireworks sounds beforehand, playing white noise, and of course keeping your dog away from fireworks shows. But they also remind pet owners that more pets are missing on July 4 than any other day, and they recommend microchipping and updating their collar just in case.
After all, nothing ruins a great vacation than losing sight of your best friend.