Indulge your pets this Valentine, but keep it real
No one melts your fond heart quite like your sweetheart. There’s no one you’d rather go on walks with or cuddle with than your adorable, faithful little furry friend at home. It’s the season of love and naturally, you want to show them how much they mean to you. But might your token of appreciation and love inadvertently send them to the ER?
Give your pets a special day of treating and cute bows, but remember these cardinal safety rules.
- Chocolates are toxic to your pets! You want your pet to enjoy the gooey sweetness of heart-shaped candies because that’s the best thing about Valentine’s. Unfortunately for your pet, it could send them into a coma. Chocolates are toxic for dogs and more than a couple of bites could result in a variety of medical complications, ranging from increased body temperature to seizure and cardiac failure.
- They don’t care for flowers either. If you are the type that sees a flower for the petals and not the thorns, alter your perspective. The thorn pricks will be painful for your pet and perchance they swallow it and a puncture occurs, there could be a serious risk of infection. Besides, several species of flowers are known to cause extreme reactions in pets when ingested. Lilies, for example, are notoriously toxic to cats.
- Heart-shaped balloons? Puke! While they may look cheesy enough for an instamoment, balloons, streamers, cello tape, and other stringy decorations are serious choking hazards for your pets. These items could get lodged in their respiratory tracts or stomachs and cause them to choke or vomit.
- Your pets are cheap drunks. Remember to mop up any wine or liquor spills quickly because it takes very little alcohol for your curious little pet to show symptoms of OD. Even small amounts of alcohol lapped up by a pet could send them rapidly spiraling towards tremors, nausea, diarrhea, breathing difficulties and even coma.
- Is your human Valentine really ready to care for a pet? Gifting a pet to someone without having discussed it with the receiver is a terribly unwise move. Pets, like babies, require a lot of commitment and care and it would be cruel to the pet to leave it with someone who is not equipped to take on the responsibilities of a carer just yet. Instead, you and your Valentine could sponsor a pet at your local animal shelter and leave the caring to the experts.
Useful links:
Top 10 Plants Poisonous to Pets