Keeping Your Pets Safe Over the Holidays

"Tis the season for giving. A recent poll revealed that 35% of couples who own pets spend more on their animals than they do on their partners! How about a matching dog sweater with the name of your favorite university embroidered on it? Or maybe a Woofgang Pup Pizza, some edible holiday cards, or a neat little kit to take impressions of your pet's paw and frame it for posterity? Of course the rather expensive fully-automated litter box is always a yearly favorite.

Seems like in a lot of households Fido or Kitty is the center of attention around the holidays. But as both pets and humans get caught up in the spirit, it sometimes can be a dangerous time of year for our pets. 

A few years ago I had a little mixed dog named Max who was part Black and Tan and part Chihuahua. Max was a precocious little pup with a curiosity that was several times larger than he was. He would try to steal the chew toy right out from under the neighbor's dog's nose, and that dog was a Doberman by the way. One winter he hit a patch of ice as he was running across the yard and almost knocked himself out on a tree. One year, around Christmas time, I decided to give him a little treat. Though most of the time he never got table scraps, this was after all, the holidays. The only problem was several other guests and family members had decided to treat him over the course of the evening and he didn't refuse any of them. Around midnight, after everyone had left, I heard the most terrible moaning coming from the kitchen. Max was lying on the floor, his abdomen distended, looking like he was in terrible pain. After a call to the vet it was determined that Max had indigestion from all of the fat and salt in the ham he had eaten. The vet told me to try to get him to swallow a little Pepto Bismol. Both of us were pink by the time he burped a couple of times and seemed to get better. Here are a few tips to keep your pets safe during the holidays: