Saturday, August 1, 2009

Fido need no longer fear fireworks


I'm very pleased to read of a new invention for dogs - canine ear muffs.

They are the brainchild of private pilot Michelle Macguire, who was upset when Cooper, her labrador cross, curled up in a ball shivering in fright when he joined her on short flights.

Mrs Macguire, 48, of Wisconsin in the US, said: ‘I did a test flight of 15 minutes and by the time we arrived Cooper had taken them off.

'But when we did the return flight, he kept them on – he must have realised it was a lot worse for him without them.

‘That was seven years ago, when he was one. Ever since, he’s never taken them off and flying doesn’t bother him at all.’

She said that hundreds of armed forces dogs based in Iraq and Afghanistan are also now using Mutt Muffs while on the front line – and that they have solved the problem for dog-owners of how to deal with firework night disturbance.


There's more at the link.

Now, that's a really good idea! Intrigued by the article, I investigated further, and found Ms. Macguire's Web site, where the Mutt Muffs are for sale. It's worth a look, if you have dogs. I've seen too many animals terrified by the noise of fireworks. These seem to offer a solution.




Peter

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

These seem like a perfectly good idea to me, so long as the dog can grok the idea. I read a similar account of shoes being made for rescue dogs so their feet don't get thrashed on rubble etc.

Jim

raven said...

Is that the cutest pic ever?!

Anonymous said...

30 years ago I spent four months working in a fly camp in the Alaskan bush. My dog came with me and we flew in helicopters nearly every day. I put cotton wads in his ears - but if these had been available, I'd have bought them.

Kudos to Ms. MacGuire!