The Fourth of July is my least favorite holiday. Not because I'm unpatriotic. But because I have dogs. Every year around this time, we close up all the windows, regardless of the weather, turn on the air conditioning and leave the TV or radio on for noise value if nothing else. And regardless of the precautions we take, i always end up trying to comfort at least one of our dogs who is scared out of its mind by some idiot or idiots with fireworks.

Animal shelters must hate this time of year too, since it is the time they get the most lost and stray dogs brought in because they got scared and take off.

Furthermore, it's not just animals that do not appreciate your personal firework display:

So this year, let's try something different. Instead of buying all those fireworks, about buying some cans of dog or cat food or some bags of kibble and donating it to the local animal shelter.

This year, don't make a noise - make a difference.

Open thread below...