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Our Annual Christmas Donation
Christmas Holiday Hazards
From the Desk of…
Our Annual Christmas Donation
In lieu of gifts for each other, the staff of East Hilliard Veterinary Services makes a donation to a worthy cause for Christmas each year. We have chosen the Military Dog Cooling Vest Project this year. (To learn more about the project, please see our November newsletter.)
We are very excited about the response we’ve had to this year’s project. Client donations have been  exceptional! Our sincere thanks to all who have participated. We have a donation box in our reception area and would love to have you join us. We’ll be accepting donations until December 24th. Any amount would be greatly appreciated.
Keep Your Holidays Happy
Holidays can be especially hazardous for our pet companions. The holiday season brings lots of food, travel, special decorations, and excitement - all full of potential hazards for our pets.
Many plants especially popular during the holidays are extremely toxic, possibly even fatal to our pets.
Holly berries can cause intense vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy.
The Poinsettia is minimally toxic but can cause irritation of the mouth, excessive drooling, and possibly, vomiting.
The Christmas Rose can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and seizures.
Mistletoe, especially the berries, can cause vomiting, diarrhea, a decreased heart rate, and erratic behavior.
Lilies can cause renal failure, gastrointestinal upset, and anorexia.
The Peace Lily can cause oral irritation and intense burning of the mouth and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing.
Human food, always in abundance this time of year, provides a temptation difficult for pets to ignore, especially dogs. Counter-surfing and rummaging through the trash can have disastrous consequences.
The toxic compounds in chocolate, theobromine and caffeine, can cause vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, increased respirations, increased heart rate, tremors, and hyperactivity.
Xylitol, found in candies and gum, can cause vomiting, weakness, depression, seizures, coma, even death.
Alcoholic beverages can cause vomiting (sometimes with blood), depression of the central nervous system, coma, and death.
Other human foods that can be toxic to our pets include coffee, garlic, onions, onion powder, grapes, raisins, raw yeast, bread dough, and macadamia nuts.
Rich foods, especially meats and gravy, can cause gastrointestinal upset and pancreatitis, a potentially serious condition in pets.
Giving bones to our pets can result in an obstruction and/or perforation of the intestines, which would require surgery.
 Decorative holiday lights and the extension cords can cause severe electrical burns and electrocution. Chemicals in the Christmas lights themselves can also cause burns and toxic reactions.
Christmas ornaments, ribbons, and tinsel present a tempting target for pets. Ribbons and tinsel can cause an intestinal obstruction if swallowed. Ornaments can cause lacerations if broken.
Christmas tree water is viewed as just another water bowl to pets, but drinking the stagnant or chemically treated water can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Candles can easily burn our pets by either the flame or the hot wax. Candles also pose a fire hazard if a pet accidentally knocks it over.
If possible, keep your pets on their normal schedule. Stress can cause all sorts of problems in our household pets. Feed the same food at the same time in the same place as every other day of the year. Don’t ask your pets to wear Christmas ribbons or reindeer antlers unless they are very tolerant of things like this.
The best way to ensure you and your pet have a safe and happy holiday is prevention. Keep poisonous plants in a room that is inaccessible to your pet. Better yet, choose imitation or non-toxic alternatives. Monitor your pets around the kitchen and keep food out of reach. Do not leave pets unsupervised around the Christmas decorations either. If your pet has eaten anything potentially hazardous, contact a veterinarian immediately. Sadly, very few Christmases have passed without our veterinarians having to treat at least one pet injured or made ill by the holiday treats or decorations.
From the Desk of…
Some more holiday safety tips from Leroy and Lester.
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