‘She starts cowering’: Surrey dog owner pleads to drop air horns, firecrackers during nightly cheer

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Please think of those who may be unable to handle loud noises during the 7 p.m. cheer.

While many are grabbing their pots and pans ready to show support for frontline workers battling through the pandemic, a Surrey woman says her German Shepherd becomes incredibly anxious hearing air horns or firecrackers.

“She starts cowering and shaking and she does it now, even up to 7 o’clock. She now has a timer inside her that she knows it’s coming, and she will stay anxious,” Claire Douglas says.


She explains she has reached out to community groups on Facebook and even to the RCMP, but she hasn’t had any luck getting the message across.

“It’s really frustrating. I’m getting a lot of good positive feedback from people saying, you know, their animals react the same or that they feel badly, that’s so sad. It just hasn’t gotten to the right people.”

In the meantime, her dog, Peaches, is staying with her in-laws in a quieter neighbourhood, but Douglas is sure there are others who are dealing with a similar issue.

“I think that loud noises just increase the chance of your pet running off. It’s one thing to deal with it for Halloween once a year, but when it’s every night, it’s causing a lot of stress to animals.”

The BC SPCA says loud noises can really startle or stress animals which can cause them to behave out of character.


Douglas says while the cheer is a great idea, it might be better to stick to options that won’t startle other people or animals.

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