One thing I have learned from being the dog of a veterinarian…just because it looks good, smells good, and tastes good, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. I have seen many of my furry cousins come into PCAH very sick because they have gotten into something that their humans didn’t realize was unsafe for them. I myself even have a story to tell, but more on that later.
There are always potential for us pets to get into something unsafe but that risk increases during the holidays due to the fact that there are extra goodies around. And now with the holidays fast approaching I thought it was the perfect time to share with you how to keep your pets safe and out of the Emergency Clinic, so you both can have happy holiday season.
One thing that there is plenty of during the holidays is candy, chocolate, cakes, and cookies. Although these goodies are safe for humans (the staff here loves that stuff by the way), some of them are potentially lethal to us pets. For example, Xylitol, a sweetener used in many products including sugar free gum and candy can be deadly if ingested at toxic levels.
Chocolate is also unsafe for pets. I myself once ate a whole tray of brownies. Once my mom, a.k.a. Dr. Martin, realized what I had done she forced me to drink hydrogen peroxide so I would throw up the brownies. My tummy had other plans and the brownies stayed down. So off to the Emergency clinic we went. Once there they gave me another medicine that did make me throw up…FYI brownies taste much better going down! Once I had thrown up all what was left in my stomach they put an IV catheter in me and hooked me up to some fluids to keep me hydrated because they figured I would get diarrhea. To say it was not fun would be an understatement. I myself have no plans to eat a whole tray of brownies again but I am just a dog and sometimes think with my stomach not my brain. So Dr. Martin makes sure to always keep candies, chocolate, etc. way out of my reach. And I recommend you do the same!
Now not all foods that you people eat are necessarily toxic to us but there are still some potential hazards. For example, Thanksgiving meals are high in fat and can upset our tummies if you choose to share your meal with us. Some of us can get our tummies so upset that we need special medicine and diet to start feeling well again or even worse hospitalization. Remember the brownies?!? Also you may not know this but some of us pets, especially dogs, love to eat out of the garbage. During the holidays you guys will be throwing away a lot of turkey bones, which if we eat may cause an obstruction or an upset tummy at the very least. So keep those trash cans out of reach so we won’t be enticed to go “dumpster diving”.
Until next time…
-TUG
