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We're a pretty sedate bunch around my house. On New Year's Eve, my husband and I were already dozing at the 11 p.m. news. My 21-year-old daughter watched the ball drop in Times Square on television, and then let the dogs out just after midnight.

We may regret that for a long time.

From our home in northern Roanoke County, we were treated to the sights and sounds of the New Year's fireworks display in Vinton. Dexter is afraid of fireworks, and our newest dog, Coral, became absolutely panicked at the loud noises and bright lights.

Now she all but refuses to go out the patio door at night, requiring a walk upstairs to the door that leads to the deck and then down the deck stairs to the yard for her pre-bedtime potty break. The entire time she is in the yard after dark she seems very nervous.

I understand a phobia like this is in dogs is very hard to treat. According to animal expert Steve Dale, our best bet is an anti-anxiety drug. But I really hesitate to give my pets drugs, especially mood altering drugs. I gave anti-anxiety pills to my daughter's cat when we moved from Nashville to Roanoke, and it was awful. She was like a mean drunk who cried for seven solid hours in the car.

I am sure many of you have dealt with fear and anxiety in pets. What's worked for you, and what hasn't?

This is from blog reader and co-worker Annie Johnson. She posted this as a comment to my last entry, but you really have to see the picture to get the "awwwww" factor:

My Mr. Jeter (aka Bo Beter, SUCH a cutie)also has a place of his own. Just in front of the window sits the first piece of furniture I have ever purchased -- now "Jeter's Chair." He sits perched atop the brown suede, looking out the window at all the birdies flying by. He has successfully squished the heck out of the pillow and constantly scares the cats off, who also enjoy the spot.

My husband’s business meeting is over, so now we are really on vacation in Colorado, visiting family and taking in the local attractions.

I have heard stories that some pets can seem to know when family members are coming home, even when the return trip is not part of the daily routine. Dogs will wait by a door or a window in anticipation of their favorite human’s reappearance.

If your pet seems to know you are in the neighborhood long before your turn into your driveway, you might be able to contribute to a study being conducted by OpenSourceScience.net.

According to the Web site, OpenSourceScience is a free, Web-based collaborative project for facilitating the discussion and replication of controversial scientific experiments. I think that means they try to explain the unexplainable. I don't see much controversy in trying to figure out if dogs have a sense for the return of a beloved human. It just seems like a fun way to share stories about your smart and sensitive pooch in a the name of science.

When we board the plane back to Virginia later this week, I really doubt if Dexter will have any sense that we are homeward bound. But as soon as we open the door, he will do his happy-dog dance. I can document that phenomenon conclusively.