This time of year is full of holiday celebrations, meant to be shared with family and friends.  But nothing can spoil the holiday spirit like a trip to the emergency room with your sick pet.  Trust me, last year I rang in the New Year at the emergency hospital with my dog.  So this year, I will share some helpful tips to keep your holiday from becoming not-so-happy!

1.) Plan Ahead For The Unexpected

It always happens that your pet becomes sick when our office is closed.  Planning ahead for these situations will help reduce your stress and the time it takes to get your pet some help.  Have emergency numbers handy in an easy-to-find location, like the refrigerator or your cell phone.  This should include the 24-hour emergency hospital number, and even Animal Poison Control.  Give our office a call, and we’ll be happy to help you find these numbers.

2.) Watch the Food and Treats

We all get to enjoy delicious food and treats this time of year, and many people want to share them with their pets.  However, giving pets people food can have some serious consequences.  It’s best to feed strictly pet food and treats.  Specifically, check out this site for some specific foods that are harmful to pets.  Click here

3.) Holiday Decorations

Decorating for the different holidays is fun and beautiful.  However, many decorations can be traumatic or hazardous to your pet.  Christmas trees can fall over as cats try to climb them or play with the ornaments or lights.  Some cats will even chew on the lights and can receive an electric shock!  Broken glass from ornaments may cause injuries, or even some homemade ornaments may look tasty to a dog, but can cause intestinal obstructions or toxicity if ingested.  And while eating tinsel may not be considered a delicacy to us, some cats find it tasty, but can result in intestinal blockages as well, sometimes requiring surgery.  It’s important to think about placing these items out of reach of your pet.

There are so many things to think about in order to keep our pets safe this holiday season so that we can enjoy the festivities ourselves!  For more information about keeping pets safe, click here, for a helpful article.