A dog owner is calling for fireworks to be banned after her dog was seriously injured when he bolted from one that went off nearby.
Sandra Rolfe's pooch Penny was a rescue dog who was already scared of pretty much everything when she took her in.
But the fireworks proved too much for the pug spaniel cross, and caused her to flee into the road, where she was then nearly killed by a car.
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Recalling the run up to the traumatic incident, Sandra said: "Penny was terrified and it was like she was back to how she was when I first rescued her from Green Acres dog rescue charity in Pembrokeshire.
"Her jaw was shaking and she was panting heavily. I drew all the curtains and turned up the sound on the TV to try and distract her.
"About 8.30pm the noise had finished for a while so I went outside and checked very carefully to make sure I couldn't see or hear anything.
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"Then, just as I was letting her out onto the lawn as normal to do a pee, a banger went off what felt very close by and Penny bolted.
"I was beside myself with worry and I was calling and calling on her but she didn't come back.
Sandra, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was just about to jump into her car to look for Penny when someone a few streets away alerted her to the fact she had been hit by a car.
"Thankfully I had my mobile number engraved on a tag on Penny's collar and the people who found her, wrapped her in a blanket and called me," she said.
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"When I got there poor Penny was in such a state - she'd lost a tooth, she was shaking and she was trailing her hind leg."
Sandra then quickly rushed her pup to an emergency vet, who gave her pain relief and checked over her injuries.
Luckily, she was well enough to go home, but from then on she was so terrified of fireworks that Sandra even had to take her to the vet to get sedatives when they started going off the next day.
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As fireworks season rears its head again, Sandra is so worried for her pooch that she is considering sending Penny to live with her daughter in a quieter area for the beginning of November.
She is also backing campaigns for retailers to stop selling fireworks.
"I don't want to stop anyone's fun - but something needs to be done to restrict firework sales.
"Fireworks are so noisy now - they just seem to get louder and louder - and it's not fair on pets who have such sensitive hearing," she said.
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"Aside from organised displays, it shouldn't be possible for people to buy as many fireworks as they like and just run around the streets letting them off without a thought for others."
One such campaign comes from Vets Now, who recently wrote an open letter to all British retailers, pleading that they "end the needless suffering of pets, livestock and wildlife".
"Pets have been a lifeline for millions of people this year. They have been a source of comfort and companionship, they've motivated us to get moving, and they've lifted our spirits during the most difficult of times.
"Now fireworks season is around the corner - many owners are reluctantly preparing themselves to watch on helplessly as their pets suffer psychological distress from the indiscriminate bangs and flashes from fireworks displays."
"Sadly, some are even likely to end up injured or missing as a result," wrote Dave Leicester, Head of Clinical Intelligence at Vets Now.
"To reduce the distress caused to pets we urgently need supermarkets and other retailers to take action and stop selling fireworks for private use."
A petition has also been launched calling for a ban on the sale of fireworks.
Featured Image Credit: Vets NowTopics: Dog, Life News, Pets, Life