Update on Rose and Fireworks

Rose was in the middle of an anxiety attack by the time we started out.

Many folks wrote to ask how Rose the Office Dog handled the fireworks on the most recent Fourth of July. Since I was at the PSWA conference when the emails came in, I couldn’t update everyone.

Rose handled the night better than she had in the past, but it was still a challenging night.

At the first sound of neighborhood fireworks, my girlfriend and I loaded Rose into our camper van. Here’s a picture of her panting as the panic attack started.

We drove west to the Sprague Lake Rest Area, which is about 45 miles from our house. In all the years of driving between Spokane and Seattle, I’ve never stopped there. I’ve always stopped in Ritzville, a gas-and-go town on Interstate-90 and about 27 miles farther down the road.

The rest area was extremely nice and peaceful. There were roughly six other couples with their dogs. They, too, were searching for somewhere to help their pups avoid a panic attack. We chatted amiably with these others folks and enjoyed a couple of laps around the rest area. Here’s a picture of us hanging out. As you can see, she’s doing much better here.

Unfortunately, when dusk arrived, so did the firework display from the nearby town of Sprague. Actually, there were two firework shows, which was astounding for a town of that size. The sound of exploding fireworks carried easily across the freeway to the rest area. Suddenly, every couple was in action, loading up their pups, and heading west.

We drove to Ritzville, wrongly thinking we could grab a snack and a drink without incident. Wouldn't you know it, Ritzville had an even bigger firework display than Sprague’s.

It sounded like a war zone in Love’s Travel Stop parking lot. So we loaded Rose back into the van and headed east, back to the very small town of Tokio.

There were no fireworks there and we hung out in the parking lot of a gas station. From the number of idling cars, it seemed like we all had the same idea.

By the time we made it home, it was after midnight. Fireworks were still going off in our neighborhood, albeit they were small displays, like some drunks firing off a couple after coming home from the bar.

Rose remained panicky for another hour or more. She eventually calmed down and we were all able to get some sleep.