Dog put down due to stroke after fireworks

Lucy Gell said her dog Betsy had to be put down due to a stroke she believes was brought about by fireworks

A dog owner says she was left with "no choice" but to put her beloved pet down after they suffered a stroke believed to have been caused by fireworks.

Lucy Gell, from New Mills in Derbyshire, has called on people to consider the impact of unorganised fireworks displays following the death of her whippet Betsy.

She added the response on social media to Betsy's death had been "overwhelming".

Ms Gell said: "It's the randomness of it that people can just buy them and they can let them go off at any time."

Ms Gell said 11-year-old Betsy was a healthy dog

Ms Gell said Betsy was a healthy dog but that her reaction to fireworks was getting "worse and worse".

"I had the radio on in the kitchen that night but she didn't really react. But we were in bed, the radio was turned off and she had an adverse reaction to the fireworks," she said.

"We heard the other dogs barking and went downstairs. She was in real distress and had lost the use of one of her back legs. Her tongue had gone white."

Ms Gell travelled to an emergency vet in Macclesfield, Cheshire, who told her the blood supply to Betsy's leg had stopped because of a stroke, which later led to the full loss of her legs.

She was put down on 27 October.

The illustrator - who has also worked fabricating the Martians in the Tim Burton film Mars Attacks - said Betsy featured in a lot of her work.

Ms Gell said fireworks impacted pets and people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

"There was nothing we could do so we had to make the decision to have her put to sleep. It was heartbreaking," she said.

"It's just the circumstances, the issue was the fireworks. I don't mind organised displays but it's the randomness of it that people can just buy them and there is no legislation that they can go off at any time."

She added: "What we don't realise as humans is dogs, cats, all creatures can hear things a lot more than we do.

"I'd say please consider the impact letting off random fireworks has on pets and wildlife and also humans who suffer [from] PTSD, those who have been in the military."

The RSPCA said it has had hundreds of responses to its survey on fireworks and the effects on pets

Carrie Stones, an RSPCA campaign manager, said the charity was behind a campaign to change laws around fireworks, which includes a push for light shows, drone displays and capping how loud a firework could be to 90 decibels.

"For people with pets, the stress and anxiety around firework season can build resentment with more than half of people telling us that they dread it because of the impact they have on them and their animals," she said.

"We've seen reports and video footage from people showing dogs shaking, panting in fear and trying to hide. We've seen horses bouncing off the walls off their stables during fireworks displays.

"This is why we want to see changes to firework legislation."