Keep Pets Safe This Holiday Season

 
 
The holiday season is a great time for families and it’s a rather exciting time for pets too as their living space is filled with holiday decorations. It can also be a dangerous time for pets.

Starke County Humane Society Director Suzanne Crider says the best thing is to keep decorations away from your pets.

“Keep things out of their reach,” suggested Crider. “Tinsel is a great thing to put on your trees, but cats dearly love it and dogs have been known to go after that too because it’s sparkly and they can play with it. It can cause severe blockage that can lead to very large vet bills to get them surgically taken care of.”

Also, keep holiday goodies out of the reach of animals.

“Dogs have a sweet tooth and cats like to get into things. The easiest thing is to keep stuff out of their reach.”

Do you have a cat that you can’t keep out of the Christmas tree? Crider suggests using a water bottle to train them to stay out of the tree.

We have seemed to jump head-first into winter and it’s important to keep outside pets as warm as possible. Make sure your outdoor pets have plenty of fresh water and check on them often to ensure that they have unfrozen water in their dishes. In doghouses, use straw instead of a blanket as melted snow will linger in a blanket and will not provide adequate warmth for your pet.