Professor’s House / cc

Many holiday events that will end with a bang—fireworks, that is—may be entertaining for people, but they are not nearly as much fun for animal companions or wildlife. Animals’ hearing is far more sensitive than ours, and unpredictable and deafening blasts from fireworks can cause them immense pain and fear and even damage their hearing.

Dogs, cats, birds, and other animals often become frightened and confused by the noise, causing them to panic and attempt to flee—frequently with devastating results. Many holidays end in tragedy when alarmed animals break out of screen doors and fenced yards and become lost or are hit by cars. Fireworks are just as disastrous to wildlife. Since pyrotechnic displays produce high-particulate emission-laden plumes, birds, who have sensitive respiratory systems, often choke when caught in or near pyrotechnic blasts.

Such horrifying stories are not restricted to nonhuman animals. Every year, bystanders and professional fireworks operators are injured and killed in fireworks-related incidents. Some displays have even ignited fires that have damaged property and habitat.

Holiday stories involving lighting displays don’t need to end in horror. This is because there are safer, affordable alternatives to fireworks that are just as magnificent and festive. Laser and light shows can give families, including their animal companions, real cause to celebrate.

Do you have a story about how fireworks ruined your holiday celebration? Or any ideas for how cities can light the sky with less bang and more cheer? Please enlighten us by leaving a comment …

cc/My Shoes

Recently, some friends and I have taken up Zumba. If you haven’t heard of Zumba yet, think Jazzercise-meets-Latin dancing. It’s a fabulously fun way to stay fit, and it doesn’t require any special gear—I usually just wear workout clothes and my nonleather sneaks

If you or your little ones are learning or performing a “for real” style of dancing (like ballet, ballroom, jazz, tap, etc.), you’re going to need some “for real” dancing shoes. Luckily, it’s a snap to find animal-friendly shoes for many different dancing styles online. Here are a handful of places with cruelty-free dance shoes to get your feet moving—without stepping on any animals’ toes!

• Ethical Wares’ “Last Dance” line offers vegan practice shoes, a men’s ballroom dancing shoe, and women’s ballroom shoes, including a pretty sandal.

• The Cynthia King Dance Studio in Brooklyn sells cruelty-free ballet slippers with polished canvas uppers and synthetic soles. They are a big hit with the dancers at the studio!

• Step One Dance Shoes’“Fantasy” line can be ordered in faux leather with hard rubber soles and offers a variety of ballroom and Latin dancing styles.

• Discount Dance Supply has a great selection of canvas ballet slippers along with several styles of leather-free jazz shoes and boots.

• For modern dance and other styles that are often performed in bare feet, Dance Paws makes a great leather-free product that will “save your sole”!

I’d love to hear about other places that sell vegan dance shoes!

garyscottthompson / cc

In these last few weeks of summer—in case you’re planning to slap an “I Heart My Mutt” sticker on the family truckster and load up Rover for one last summer romp—the following are some tips to help keep life happy on the holiday road:

Plan ahead. Before pulling out of the driveway, make sure that you consider the trip from Rover’s perspective too. Does he get motion sick? Will he be in a hotel all day while you’re hanging out on the beach? If you decide that Rover would be more comfortable at home, be sure to find a reputable sitter who will keep him happy and safe until you are together again.

Go through our detailed checklist to help make sure that you’ve got everything covered, from bottled water to a first-aid kit for your pooch.

Find ‘pet-friendly’ lodging. Check out our guide to animal-friendly hotels before you go. Knowing which major hotel chains will accommodate your needs will make things run more smoothly than driving up to hotels in the middle of the night with your fingers crossed to ask about their companion animal policy.

Pack a picnic for Rover too with a little help from Mr. Pugsly and Mr. Barky.

Bring along a CD that will make Rover happy and potentially inspire a sing-a-long.

Read more of our tips before hitting the road, and have a safe and fun trip!

You know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s 11 p.m., and you’re at an airport on a lay-over. You have been traveling all day and have nothing but pretzels and ginger ale in your belly. You size up the offerings during your two-hour layover and see that at this time of night, your choices are pretty much limited to trail mix or gum from the newsstand or the fast-food burger place. What is a hungry vegan to do at a time like this, when nuts and raisins simply won’t cut it? The French fry sandwich, of course!

Most burger chains will be accommodating to nontraditional requests (even though they may initially seem puzzled or need to ask a manager for help punching in your order).

So, here is what you do: Look at their menu and figure our what sandwich looks the best to you, then order it without the meat, cheese, mayo, or other animal-based items and make sure to order a side of fries. What you will hopefully end up with is a bun loaded with lettuce, sliced tomatoes, onions, ketchup, mustard, pickles, etc. Once you get your food, however, some minimal assembly is required on your part. Open up the sandwich and add about half of your order of fries (or more) and some more ketchup if you are so inclined. Close it up, marvel at the beauty in all its French fry glory, and enjoy! Also, make sure you check out our list of vegan items at popular restaurant chains.

French fry sandwiches obviously aren’t health food, but sometimes you just need to indulge in a guilty pleasure for survival!