Holiday Safety Tips for Pets

• Posted on Dec 5, 2019

 

Hi.  It’s Bailey!  My mom and dad are busy at home getting ready for the holidays.  They were hanging up lights and parts of trees all over the place.  It’s always a little strange for me but everyone seems so happy that I like it.

Since my dad is a vet (like a dog doctor), he always talks about ways my brother Remy and I can have a safe and happy holiday season.  He even thinks about that cat (which is nice, I like the cat…but he does scare me a little sometimes).

First, dad says chocolate is a big problem.  Although milk chocolate candies might be a problem, the biggest problem is dark chocolate or even worse, baking chocolate.  Dad said it would take a lot of milk chocolate to hurt me but just a small amount of baker’s chocolate could be deadly! Yikes!  It smells soooo good but I guess he’s right when he tells me I can never have any type of chocolate ever. When he and mom go out they put anything chocolate away and out of reach so I won’t be tempted to eat it.  

Other foods used in holiday dishes can be dangerous to me like raisins, grapes and even macadamia nuts.  And onions might make my red blood cells explode. I’m not sure what that means but it sounds very bad, so I don’t get anything with onions in it, or anything cooked with onions.

My brother Remy and I don’t really have any interest in playing with holiday ornaments, or chewing on trees, but some dogs and cats do.  Dad lived with a dog once who played with a ball ornament like it was a play ball and it got stuck in her intestines. She needed surgery to get it out and apparently that hurts.  So if your dogs or cats like to play with certain types of ornaments, keep them out of reach and high up on the tree! Some cats and dogs also chew on, or swallow, ribbons which can get stuck in their bellies too.  So when we unwrap presents dad gathers up the wrappings right away and either puts them in the recycling, or puts them in a box to reuse. He said that also helps the environment and makes the house stay cleaner.

He also said every year some cats or dogs will chew on the thin cords to the Christmas lights and get electrocuted.  Then they have to go to an emergency hospital and sometimes spend all of Christmas there. Dad says that’s very expensive so he unplugs lights when he and mom go out and we’re home alone, just to be safe.  He also picks up those red flowers we get…’point-setters’ or something like that. Apparently they could just give us a bad upset stomach but that’s still not good so he keeps them away from us. And he also said holly can make us sick and lilies can kill the cat so we keep those away too.

Another thing that people forget is pets getting nervous with all the commotion.  Dad puts a bed and blanket upstairs for us in case we want to get away when lots of people come over.  It’s more for my brother Remy. He gets a little scared sometimes. I love it! More people just means more dropped food for me!  And mom always makes sure the basement door is open so the cat can hide if he gets nervous. 

But no holiday is perfect for us pets without some treats of our own.  Dad says that some plain turkey, or sweet potatoes are fine for us to have.  We also can get green beans and sometimes a little cheese (but just a little).  And other people from the family bring us treats for dogs (and cats) which we love too!  So when all these things happen, it makes the holidays just perfect! Have a safe and happy holiday season everyone!!

 

-Bailey