Sound of firecrackers leaves our furry friends shaken & stirred

Diwali is just round the corner and most of us are busy shopping for lights, diyas and firecrackers. While it is celebration time for you, the loud fireworks often become an ordeal for your pets and the other four-legged neighbours around you. In fact, it’s common knowledge that these animals have much more sensitive hearing than us. What we may find a bit noisy, is almost unbearable for our furry friends.Pet groomer and animal communicator Kashika Arora said, “Dogs hear more than we do. So, if something is bugging us, imagine how irritated they will be. I will suggest pet owners stay away from taking their pets out for a walk on these days. Play soft music and spray some perfume to calm them. You can talk to your vet and get some medicines ready to soothe pets. Also, give shelter to stray dogs if you can because they are much more vulnerable than pets.” Though the West Bengal Pollution Control Board has banned crackers producing noise of more than 90 decibels, a noise-free Diwali is still a distant dream for us. We spoke to some of our celebrities who parent pooches and they shared their pet peeves with us. Here’s what they had to say...
Mimi Chakraborty, actress
This is the first Diwali for Max and I have no idea how he is going to react. Chiku, on the other hand, reacts sharply. She runs around and barks. In fact, she tries to bark louder than the noise she hears and that stresses her out. She refuses to eat. So, we give her plenty of fluids. Every year, I campaign against noise pollution during Diwali. During the night, I take my car out to feed the street dogs and give them some water. They get so scared that they often bite me. But yes, they need to get some relief.
Silajit, musician

I have six dogs in my Kolkata residence and some more in my desher bari. In Kolkata, the oldest one, Kanuda, freaks out the most. He gets scared even if there is a loud bang. So, Diwali is an ordeal for him. He asks to let him stay at my practice pad as it is relatively sound proof, and the noise in that room is familiar to him. Another one, Byomkesh, is a little scared too. He too tries to enter the practice zone. The others are fearless and have perhaps accepted the fact that we can’t offer them a noiseless Diwali. That’s unfortunate.
Subhashree Ganguly, actress

My dog, Gelato, is quite chilled out, I would say. She doesn’t get hyperactive. But my didi’s pet, Google, is terribly scared of loud noise. She tries to find a shelter to stay away from noise, or for that matter any disturbance. One needs to comfort her all the time. We fail to realise that this noise pollution affects the auditory nerves directly and even hearts of the canines.
Upal Sengupta, musician

Socks is one of the most timid dogs you can ever find. So much so that she gets scared even when it rains heavily. So obviously, Diwali is an ordeal for Socks. She shivers constantly for those two days and refuses to go out for a walk. We try to comfort her with some ear muffs but obviously that is not enough. Besides Socks, my wife (Gargi Gangopadhyay) and I look after eight strays and all of them become restless during Diwali. Most of them take shelter at the rear of our garage. This is a question of basic sensibility and it is good that at least some of us are aware of the situation. I personally stay away from firecrackers and perhaps more so because of my pets.
Sayantika Banerjee, actress

I have four dogs — Shiraz, Sherry, Scotch and Momo. I have a feeling that they can sense Diwali in advance. In fact, they are already scared and have started behaving unnaturally. They are quieter than usual. Whenever there’s loud noise outside, they give up on food. You can clearly see them slipping into depression. I am totally against bursting crackers. I hope one day we all will be able to understand the plight of animals during Diwali.
Yash Dasgupta, actor

My only concern is Leo. He is seven months old and is extremely hyperactive and runs around helter-skelter without any rhyme or reason. Even a minor rise in decibel makes him nervous. I am really worried about him. The other two, Brutus and Happy, are more used to and capable of handling the situation. During this time, they take shelter in my gym, which is soundproof.
Ankush, actor

My pet, Leo, cocoons himself on my mother’s lap. My mother tries to calm her down by turning up the TV volume since that sound is still familiar to him. But that comes as little respite. As people burst crackers, Leo shivers. He gets aggressive and if you go closer to him, he thinks we are going to harm him.
Sudipa Chatterjee, anchor

I have three dogs — Bhanubhushan, Batul and Golu — and all three react differently. Bhanu is brave and he knows how to hold himself. He doesn’t get scared. Golu, the youngest one, is extremely timid. He runs to my mother all the time. Batul, on the other hand, is cautious and finds a shelter, usually khaater tola (below the bed), and stays there all day.