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24 December 2014

Pet Safety During the Holidays

Photo by A. Piper Burgi

Like many of you, I love animals, big and small. So, of course I want them to be as involved as possible in all of our holiday celebrations. But it's also important to keep our pets safe during the festivities. While this blog entry might deviate a bit from my usual subject matters, I felt it was important to post some pet safety reminders.

- Watch out for Dangerous Foods: There are many foods that can cause serious health problems for pets, to include chocolate, raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts, and other holiday treats. Securing trash can lids can also keep pets from helping themselves to spoiled leftovers.

- Avoid Christmas Tree Catastrophes: A tall Christmas tree filled with sparkling ornament and blinking lights can be very intriguing for pets, but can also pose a safety hazard. Please secure your tree properly so it won't fall over! Also, if you have a live tree, cover the tree water, which can house bacteria and/or fertilizers which may pose a health risk should your pets drink it.

- Provide Plenty of Privacy: The holidays aren't just stressful for humans, pets can also become overwhelmed by the noise of holiday parties. Having a quiet space to which your pet can retreat and relax go a long way in relieving symptoms of stress.

- Be Wary of Wires: Electrical wires should be kept out of reach from our four-legged friends. Chewing on cables and cords can result in dangerous electrical shock. If possible cover cords with rugs or re-position furniture to block their access.

- Protect Pets from Plants: Those beautiful plants we commonly have at home around the holidays can actually be quite dangerous for pets. Plans such as mistletoe, poinsettia and certain varieties of holly can cause a host of health problems to include cardiovascular issues, kidney failure and gastrointestinal complications. Unless you trained your pets to ignore them you might want to consider the artificial variety.

Wishing you, your families and furry friends Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,
       Piper 



















Piper is the author of military lifestyle books and RV travel journals. When she isn't busy typing away on her computer, she can be found chasing after her furry children or holding on tightly to a good cup of coffee. Follow her oLinkedInFacebookGoodreads and Google+.


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