My neighborhood sounded like Baghdad on Fourth of July

I want to thank the idiots who celebrated Fourth of July with dangerous and illegal fireworks. My neighborhood sounded very much like Baghdad. The aerials that splattered live embers all over our roofs was really enjoyable. Oh, and the large booms, coupled with automatic weapon fire, sure made me feel patriotic. I forgot to sing “God Bless America.” Sorry.

Instead, my dogs tore up the house in fear. For hours, we fought to settle down the dogs only to have another large explosion and aerial fireworks spook the dogs again.

The end result? We lost both sliding glass doors. Of course, the screens were wasted in the first few minutes. The dogs tired to tear down doors in their abject fear. These hapless animals suffered late into the night.

If I had known that my community was so law abiding, I would have bought from the vet sedation for the animals. In the meantime, I thank God that the Fourth only comes once a year ... albeit a week before and a week afterward.

This story was originally published July 6, 2017 at 12:25 PM with the headline "My neighborhood sounded like Baghdad on Fourth of July."