Now that the holiday season is here, I want to give you some tips to help you and your companion animals have a safe holiday. Being aware of some of the hazards and taking steps now to prevent those hazards will help make sure an emergency trip to the vet is not on your holiday “to do” list!
Is your Christmas tree sitting in a stand full of water? If our dogs and cats could talk, I’m sure, many of them would tell us they thought you put that extra water “bowl” under the tree just for them … their own personal drinking bowl if you will. But are you aware the pine sap from the tree is toxic to your animals? If you do have your tree in a stand full of water, be sure to cover the stand with heavy towels so that Fido or Fluffy do not try to make it their own personal water bowl and worse become sick!
And, while we are on the subject of Christmas trees, no ornaments on the lower branches please. Cats and dogs are all too often enticed by the bright, glittery balls. They — think these “balls” are a present for them — they knock them down, play with them and break them. I’ve seen dogs eat these broken glass ornaments! Just as dangerous is if your little rascals should step on the broken glass ornaments. Stepping on these ornaments can result in an imbedded object, as well as cuts and bleeding.
The same caution should be used with those brightly ribboned packages you may put under the tree. Marmalade, the kitty, will think you put all those pretty bows and ribbons under the tree just for him. You don’t want Marmalade eating those ribbons and bows, so think about keeping your decorated packages in the closet until gift giving time.
And, for those of you especially with members of the feline family, tinsel is a big no-no! Merlin, the cat, will be very intrigued by this shiny stuff. If you cat is unfortunate enough to eat tinsel, you have a vet emergency! That piece of tinsel your kitty just ingested can cut his intestines as well as cause an intestinal blockage, requiring an emergency trip to the vet and often will require emergency surgery. Most everyone knows that chocolate is poisonous for dogs. Some dogs can even sniff out chocolate at 20 paces, even when it has been wrapped. Better to keep that box of chocolate you want to give Aunt Sally in a closet until gift giving time.
And, let’s not forget the family dinners you will be hosting! It is very easy to get distracted and not really pay attention to what “Fido” is doing. A friend of mine called me one holiday in tears because something was very wrong with her dog, Mango. The dog was lethargic and not eating. She rushed her beloved Mango to the vet. After emergency surgery to remove what they were calling a “foreign object,” the vet came out and showed my friend the offending substance. It seems at her holiday dinner, when no one was looking Mango was having a dinner of her own choosing. She foraged through the kitchen garbage and found and ate a whole corn on the cob (sans corn)! No one had seen Mango eat it, but there was no disputing it as the vet produced the “foreign object”.
Just taking some small steps and being made aware of potential hazards will help ensure you and your animals will have a safe holiday!
I wish everyone — human and animal — a very wonderful holiday!
— Jan Brown
— Jan is the Owner of Jan’s Pet Sitting & a Pet Tech Pet First Aid Instructor. She can be reached at