An endearing video shot in China shows a small child shielding a dog’s ears from adjacent firecrackers.
The video, which was first shared on the Chinese social networking site Weibo, has received tens of thousands of views and re-shares online.
The video was shot on January 31 in Gao’an, Jiangxi province, just before China’s Lunar New Year celebrations.
It depicts a little girl in pink standing on a street corner next to a tiny puppy that she pats on the head.
Explosions from fireworks or firecrackers may be heard off-screen, leading the little girl to cradle the dog’s ears with her hands, ostensibly to save it from being frightened or afraid by the loud noises.
As the blasts continue, the small girl stares at them. When they come to a halt, she removes her hands from the dog’s ears and resumes patting him.
Ms. Want, the girl’s mother, told Newsflare that she would cover her daughter’s ears whenever fireworks were let off nearby, calming her and assuring her there was nothing to be scared of.
While the video has received a lot of attention because of how worried the little girl appeared to be for the dog, her actions may have really benefitted the animal.
Loud explosions, such as those created by fireworks, can provoke anxiety or fear in animals, including dogs, and can elicit panic reflexes in some dogs, prompting them to flee, while others are unaffected.
The ASPCA suggests turning on soothing music or relocating pets inside with windows closed during Fourth of July celebrations in the United States to protect them from getting scared by pyrotechnics.
In traditional Chinese culture, fireworks were used to scare away evil spirits, and they are still popular in China today.
Fireworks and firecrackers are considered to have originated in China, where they were found accidentally when bamboo stalks burst after being tossed into flames. Between 600 and 800 C.E., Chinese alchemists mixed together things like sulfur and potassium to make gunpowder, which is still used in some pyrotechnics today.
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