Thanksgiving is just around the corner and while many of San Francisco’s dogs and cats will be spending
Thanksgiving with us at Pet Camp (and hopefully enjoying our pet friendly dinners over the holidays), we know that many pets will be spending the day at home with the Thanksgiving meal just above their heads (or at snout level for those families with Great Danes). The holiday meal is a great opportunity for family and friends to gather – but all that food and all those distractions may create a health risk for your four-legged friend. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) offers the following tips to keep pets safe over the holidays:
• People food is for people. While it might seem like a wonderful way to include your pet in the family festivities, many of the foods that we enjoy over the holidays are poisonous to our pets including things like onions, garlic, raisins and grapes.
• Protect leftovers, compost (we are in San Francisco after all) and other wastes in a secure container. The last thing you want to discover when you’re about to use that turkey carcass to make turkey soup is that your dog has found it first. Not only is this bad for your soup making but it’s really dangerous for your dog. Gobbling down a turkey carcass cannot only cause massive gastrointestinal problems but chomping down on turkey bones presents additional risks.
• Deserts. More for you, less for your pets. It’s pretty common knowledge that chocolate is poisonous to pets and darker chocolate is more hazardous, with baker’s chocolate being the most dangerous of all. In addition to chocolate the artificial sweetener Xylitol is also dangerous to pets. Xylitol is a pretty common sweetner used in both baked goods and chewing gum.
So what’s a responsible pet parent to do over the holidays? We understand that you want to treat your pets extra special over the holidays, heck we’re pet parents too, so get them something special designed just for them! They’ll love the treat and you’ll love a holiday meal that doesn’t end with you cleaning up the floor, picking up garbage, or visiting an emergency veterinary clinic.
If you won’t be needing any long or short term pet boarding services over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend – have a wonderful weekend filled with family, friends and happy, healthy pets.
Thanks for reading!