Fireworks have been blamed for the deaths of two pet dogs who ran into the road after being frightened by loud bangs in Kingsnorth and were run over.

Alexis Robertson lost her beloved shih tzu Mavis on Friday evening while the friend of another dog owner, who was too upset to talk, revealed a second pet was hit by a car the next night in similar circumstances.

Dog trainer Alexis, 40, of Stumble Lane, described how terrified Mavis bolted out into the garden and under a fence when a firework exploded close by.

She said: “I was letting my two German shepherds out because they don’t mind the fireworks and she shot out with them.

“Dogs have a fight or flight behaviour and when it comes to fireworks they can’t fight them so they either run or hide. My Jack Russell is a hider and unfortunately Mavis was a runner" - Alexis Robertson

“Just then a house a few doors down let off a massive bang. I called them back in but she’d already gone. There was a tiny little gap in the fence and she squeezed under it and ran.”

Ms Robertson and her partner, who also have a Jack Russell, searched in the dark for several hours before finding the 18-month-old rescue dog’s body in Church Hill.

She said: “The two German shepherds are fine with fireworks, they watch them and bark, but the other two were scared. Mavis would just shake.

“A lot of dogs are afraid of fireworks. Dogs have a fight or flight behaviour and when it comes to fireworks they can’t fight them so they either run or hide. My Jack Russell is a hider and unfortunately Mavis was a runner.

“I don’t blame the person that hit Mavis because at the end of the day she shouldn’t have been there.

“I don’t know whether I’m cross with the people letting off the fireworks because they certainly wouldn’t have intended for this to happen.

“If people just let their neighbours know which days and times they’re planning to let off fireworks they can make sure their animals are inside.”

In response to a discussion about Mavis on Facebook page Keep Kingsnorth Rural, Sue McGeever posted on Sunday: “Sorry to say, but yet another beloved pet dog was killed last night on Mill Hill due to the noise of the fireworks.”

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