Now that spring and summer are upon us, it’s a great time to start planting flowers and other plants in your backyard or even in pots inside your house. Plants and flowers can pick anyone’s spirits up, especially when the sun is shining! Any types of flowers, but especially seasonal ones, help you make your home change with the seasons and spruce up your décor.

While you may like a certain flower or are looking for certain plants, there are members of your family that you have to think about: your pets. Certain types of flowers and plants can be toxic to your pets, so be sure to pick out ones that are not on that list, especially if you plan to have flowers in your home. The following are a list of plants that may force you to go to an emergency animal clinic in D’Iberville, MS, if your pet ingests them:

· Aloe Vera · Amaryllis · Azalea · Baby’s Breath · Begonia · Carnations · Castor Bean · Chrysanthemum

· Cyclamen · Daffodil · Gladiola · Hosta · Ivy · Lillies · Milkweed · Morning Glory

· Oleander · Poinsetta · Pothos · Sago Palm · Tomato plants · Tulip · Yew

There are certain signs and symptoms, apart from your pet just being sick, that you should look out for if you think your plants may be affecting your dog or cat. If your pet is vomiting or has a bad case of diarrhea, your pet may be reacting to eating many of the above plants.

Another sign or symptom to watch out for is excessive drooling. For example, the plant Castor Bean can cause excessive drooling, vomiting and diarrhea. It’s a common plant in many parks and public spaces, so in addition to keeping it out of your own garden and home, make sure to watch out for it on dog walks! Daffodils, gladiola, ivy, pothos, and tulips are other plants that can cause salivation problems in your dog.

If your dog is acting strange and a lot less active, depression may be a probable diagnosis. While plants often make humans happy, they can give your pets depression if digested. Some common types that cause depression are aloe vera, amaryllis, azalea, hosta, milkweed, tomato plants and tulips.

In extreme cases, some plants, if digested, can cause the death of your pets. These plants you want to avoid if at all possible—otherwise, you may be choosing between your plants and your pets. The plants that most commonly can cause death are azalea, castor bean, cyclamen, milkweed, oleander, sago palm and yew.

Thankfully, many of the common plants and the plants that we also find beautiful will give your pets a break if they digest them. These common plants will give your pet very few, if any, signs or symptoms: baby’s breath, carnations, hosta, lilies and poinsettias. While there are few symptoms associated with these plants, they’re still unhealthy to a degree for your pets to be nibbling on!

If you think you spot any of these signs and symptoms, and you’ve seen your dog or cat eating a plant that you don’t know anything about, bring him or her to an emergency vet clinic in D’Iberville, MS. D’Iberville Veterinary Hospital will treat your pet as well as they can and as quickly as possible.