Dog dies escaping fireworks

The Auckland SPCA is devastated after a dog died while trying to escape from fireworks in Manukau.

SPCA marketing manager Clare Waldron says the dog had been tied up in a backyard and became so terrified it tried to jump a fence, hanging itself in the process.

The dog was dead by the time the SPCA arrived.

Ms Waldron says the SPCA's call centre received hundreds of reports from people whose pets had gone missing on and around Guy Fawkes night.

SPCA general manager David Lloyd-Barker says there have been no serious reports of animal cruelty this Guy Fawkes season but he fears people have stockpiled fireworks and will use them to celebrate New Year's Eve, birthdays and other events throughout the year.

Whenever and wherever fireworks are used, there will be terrified animals nearby, he says.

- © Fairfax NZ News