The Fourth of July is not a great holiday for a lot of American dogs, including our Rocco, who is terrified of the crackles and pops and especially the booming explosions. He is beside himself, pacing from room to room, panting nervously, and looking at me as if asking for directions to some deep cave in which to hide. He settles for the basement where he curls up in a dark, damp corner.

I’ve had dogs in the past who never got used to either fireworks or thunderstorms. I don’t know why (being a dog lover doesn’t warrant a deep understanding of their psyche), but I wonder if their animal instincts go haywire, and they are driven to act unnaturally in response to something that seems so unnatural or supernatural to them. They are reduced to desperate victims in the presence of random, inexplicable violence out there in the world.

While there is nothing anyone can do about thunder and lightning, I can’t help but question the seemingly ever growing use of illicit fireworks locally. People are setting them off earlier every year – this year it started back in April. And whatever stock is left over after the holiday will likely be blasted periodically until the end of summer. Are the laws unclear about who can buy and sell them? About where and when they can be purchased? Are there restrictions regarding where they can and cannot be fired?

When I was 10 or 11 years old I thought firecrackers were pretty cool. The “cherry bombs” were the source of much intrigue, and whoever had these bad beauties was the coolest kid in the neighborhood for about a week, up until the big oohs-and-aahs show by the lake. But by mid-July, the mood had changed, and the thrill of the cracks and sizzles and even the cherry blasts was gone. We had returned to the mundaneness of baseball and swimming (which would also disappear in the wink of a summer’s eye).

I can’t help but wonder why people are so fascinated with them today, especially adults. I mean, if there is one good thing about tech addiction, it’s that people are so busy gaming or doing social media, they forget to do things that are publicly obnoxious. Not so with fireworks. The little speakers on phones don’t cut the mustard. Gotta have the big boom, the “wow” factor.

I doubt many of the fireworks wizards in my neighborhood have much awareness about the history of fireworks, either in America or the world. And of course the community displays today are more about entertainment than any kind of ceremonial significance. But what is hard to swallow is that these people either don’t have a clue or couldn’t care less about the neighbors, man and dog alike, who are unnerved by what sounds very much like gun fire. They don’t see it for the invasion of privacy and abusive behavior that it really is.

I also think about veterans of the recent wars in Asia and the Middle East – Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan – especially those soldiers who have been damaged by war, mentally and/or physically. Some of them must be deeply affected by the sound of explosions, and the sight of fire in the air. Where can they take cover?

Recently a writer-friend, John, reminded me that it is not always enough to point out problems and criticize those involved. A writer ought to help solve the problems, or at least propose some inkling of a solution.

My proposal regarding the issue of fireworks as a public disturbance is that it needs to be addressed by local police. Obviously, the police cannot monitor or investigate every boom or blast that gets reported.

They would need more help from the public, maybe in the form of a reward for information or a hotline for gathering data about times and locations.

Meanwhile, as I write this piece, Rocco is beside himself, cowering in a dark, damp corner of the basement while someone down the street is getting cheap thrills by making things go boom in the night.

Pete Howard, a musician, writer, teacher, and painter, lives in Dunkirk.