I hate fireworks

I love all my dogs with all my heart, but Eddie, my first Yorkie, is special. He's the smartest dog I've ever owned, and we're so close we can practically read each other's minds.

I would do anything for Eddie.

But I can't take away his fear of fireworks. He's always been terrified of them, but it became a huge problem when he was about 1 and escaped from the dogsitter on the Fourth of July. He roamed the neighborhood (or hid) while fireworks were being shot off constantly. He made his way home on his own after 4 or 5 hours. That was three years ago.

Now, he can't even hear one miles away without shaking like a leaf. He looks at me with the saddest, scaredest eyes I've ever seen. And it breaks my heart that I can't take away the fear.

I've tried distracting him. I've tried ignoring him. I've tried massaging him. I've tried putting him in his kennel.

And nothing works. If anything, he's gotten worse.

A behaviorist would probably try to condition him to the sounds, but we have no animal behaviorists in Alaska. And I'm afraid to try it myself because virtually any level of sound drives him into the shakes. I can't bring myself to do it.

A trainer recently suggested that I sedate him. That might work on the Fourth, but around here (where firecrackers are legal and for sale 40 miles away), the "celebration" lasts for weeks. Short of inducing a coma, I don't see how sedation is going to work.

It's 1:25 a.m. on the 13th of July, and they are STILL popping off.

I just don't know what to do.