Make it a safe holiday – pet-proof your home
I spent a good portion of last weekend picking mushrooms. Not to eat, although I love them. I wouldn’t trust myself to know an edible mushroom from a poisonous one. But with the recent rains, mushrooms have been popping up all over my lawn, and I don’t want my curious dogs to ingest them. Mushroom poisoning has killed more than one dog in our area, and I certainly wouldn’t want my dogs to become a statistic. This is not the typical danger you hear about when we focus on the holidays, but this has been a bumper crop of ‘shrooms lately.
Other hazards to keep your pets away from include the rich holiday foods typically served on Christmas, such as turkey. Many dogs end up in the emergency room with pancreatitis from eating a big fatty meal. Chocolate is also toxic to pets and should be kept out of their reach. Don’t trust the fact they are gift-wrapped to deter a dog. They can smell the goodies right through the pretty paper, so don’t stash edible gifts under the tree.
The Christmas tree presents its own set of challenges to those of us with pets. In a comic I saw recently, it showed the dog reacting to the tree with the thought bubble “Yes, indoor plumbing,” and using the tree for his business. Makes sense to me – how confusing is it to walk your dog up to every tree outside and reward him for peeing and then get mad when he does it on the one tree you thoughtfully brought into the house? A foster mom, who raises kittens for us, sent a recent photo of her tree with kittens peeking out from all the branches. Cute as kittens but not exactly what you want your adult cat doing. And even the tree in the lobby of the shelter has no ornaments on the bottom half – thanks to our mascot cats. Ornament? Cat toy? All one and the same!
Poinsettias and holly have long been listed on the poisonous plant list (check out the full lists on the aspca.com website) for pets, so keep them up high where they can’t be nibbled. String, ribbon and garlands have all caused problems for our curious and naughty pets. Both getting tangled up in them and getting caught in their digestive system. A few years ago we unintentionally got a $4,000 cat toy. That’s how much it cost to cut it out of my dog’s intestine where it caused a total blockage. Of course, that could happen anytime of the year – it was just coincidence that it was a red and green toy.
We’re all so busy during this time of the year and there’s so much “stuff” in our homes – gifts to give, gifts we receive, baking, cooking, decorating, entertaining – that it’s easy to overlook something that is potentially dangerous. Please take a few minutes to look around your house and pet-proof things so this can be a safe and happy holiday season for everyone.