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Holiday Guide to pets, toxic foods/plants & ER services
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Everyone knows dogs can’t have chocolate, but what about all the other table scraps we sneak them when they stare at us with those big brown eyes as we devour a rib-eye?
According to the Dog Owners Digest, the reason that dogs can not have chocolate is because it “increases urination and affects the central nervous system as well as heart muscle. While amounts vary by type of chocolate, it's the Obromine that is poisonous to dogs.” So, dark chocolate is worse than milk chocolate and while no chocolate is good, holiday fudge is especially bad when it’s made with real cocoa. Likewise, cats shouldn’t get into the milk you leave out for Santa because generally speaking they are lactose intolerant and don’t digest human milk.
ASPCA says, “We generally do experience somewhat of a rise in chocolate calls around holidays, such as Halloween, Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.“ For this reason, Petdoc.com features a list of many of the foods that are toxic to your pets, but here’s some of the most common that appear around the holidays, and why they are dangerous, (Quotes taken from http://petdoc.com/story/toxic-foods-your-dog):
1. Alcoholic Beverages - Don’t let Snoopy sip the Brandy this holiday. “Alcohol can cause gastrointestinal irritation, drunkenness, tremors, difficult breathing and/or panting, coma and even death.”
2. Yeast dough - probably one of the biggest risks surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday, because of the large amount of baking (and according to a representative at Lallemand, sales of Bakers Yeast increase during the fourth quarter of every year). “Dough can be double trouble in that as it rises, the dough can expand the GI tract, possibly causing the intestine to rupture. The yeast can also form alcohol as it rises, leading to alcohol poisoning.”
3. Tomatoes - many people don’t realize that leftover pizza is incredibly dangerous to your pet. “Fruit is not a problem in moderation, but the leaves, stem and unripe fruit are. Ingestion of these can cause GI upset, excess salivation, drowsiness, dilated pupils, and weakness.”
4. Xylitol sweetener - many lower calorie cookies are made with artificial sweeteners, a sugar cookie seems harmless, but “sweetener in candies and gum can also cause a fairly sudden drop in blood sugar, resulting in depression and seizures.”
5. Onions - Finely chopped or sliced onions appear in everything from stews and soups to potato and meat dishes. They also “lead to GI upset and perhaps damage red blood cells.”
Did you know that along with holiday foods, some popular holiday plants are also deadly to your pets? Eating toxic plants can even cause renal (kidney) failure in cats. Popular plants on the toxic list for pets include: Poinsettia, Holly, Apple, Evergreen, Daffodil, Lily, Ivy and Aloe. In addition to these holiday plants, something that is abundant in San Diego can be dangerous to your pets health, the Sago Palm.
Memorizing all of these would be impossible, and watching your pets around the clock would be unreasonable. You may think you have your house pet-proofed, but still find yourself staring down a midnight emergency.
San Diego has excellent emergency veterinary services. If you have a pet emergency outside of your normal veterinary hours, especially as the holidays sneak up, use this list as a reference.
Veterinary Specialty Hospital (North County & Sorrento Valley)
North County
2055 Montiel Rd.
San Marcos, CA 92069
760-466-060
Click Here for Google Map
Sorrento
10435 Sorrento Valley Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
858-875-7500
Click Here for Google Map
Animal ER of San Diego (Kearny Mesa)
5610 Kearny Mesa Rd.
San Diego, CA
858-569-0600
Click Here for Google Map
VCA Animal Hospital (Mission Valley)
2317 Hotel Circle South
San Diego, CA 92108
619-299-2400
Click Here for a Map
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