An eruption of noise on a June night startled Rajah as the dog played in her South Carolina backyard. It was fireworks.
The piercing crackling unnerved Rajah, and she bolted for the yard's fence and leapt right over it, leaving her worried owners behind, according to multiple reports.
Rajah eventually found her way back home, as documented in a now-viral late-night doorbell video, but the dog is far from alone in having a frantic reaction to fireworks. It's a recurring problem for pets every Fourth of July, and this year is shaping up to be especially bad.
That's because many Americans are looking forward to a more normal — and much louder — Fourth of July this year after pandemic restrictions canceled last year's festivities. More than half of American adults plan to watch fireworks, according to a survey from The Vacationer, an online travel news hub.