Spring Holidays and Your Pet!

Plenty of folks have been dressing up their pets to get into the spring holiday spirit for years. With celebrations that are currently going on, Center Pet wants to let everyone know some tips on how to have a safe and fun Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter with their pets.

MARDI GRAS

 

•When bringing your pets to Mardi Gras parades, be sure that your pet is not suffocated by the amount of people that are around. Check that they have enough room to sit or stand, and are not smothered by other people. At the parade, you could ask and see if there is a designated area for pets and their owners to stand and watch. Or you could find your own sort of safe zone, where you and your pet feel comfortable watching the parade.

•Although beads are great for humans to wear, lots of beads around your pet’s neck could be trouble. Yes, they might look adorable; however it is not a good idea. Your pet could trip over the beads and severely hurt themselves, or the beads could weigh their necks down and hurt them that way.

•Moon Pies and other candy-goodies are delicious to eat for Mardi Gras lovers everywhere, except for your pets! Many of the sweet treats are made out of chocolate, and other types of foods that are not good for your pet and can make them severely sick. The chocolate in some cases can not only cause rigorous illness, but it can also lead to tachycardia—an abnormally fast heartbeat. (There is more important information about chocolate in the "Easter" section of this article!)

ST. PATRICK’S DAY

•Please drink responsibly, and do not feed your pet any alcoholic beverages. It is not funny, or fun for them, and can give them alcohol poisoning—which is extremely serious in pets. Giving your pet alcohol can cause diarrhea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, lack of coordination, coma, and more. Pets who consume alcohol also can result in death. If you or a friend happens to spill beer or a mixed drink onto the floor, be sure to clean it up ASAP before your pet gets to it first.

•Make sure your pet is always hydrated. Where ever you go, (party, parade, street fair) please bring some water for them. You can even put a little bit of green food dye into their water, for a festive drink for them!

•We all know that you’d never forget to wear green on St. Patty’s day, so don’t forget to dress your furry friend to impress—in green of course! No one wants their pet to be pinched, so put them in a green shirt or a green collar.

EASTER

•As much as everyone loves opening their Easter baskets and rummaging through the plastic grass and eggs, your pet loves to, too! However, it is not safe for your pet to search through the basket because they could find, and potentially eat candy wrappers and other decorative items like ribbons (which are not edible.) Also, the plastic grass is not digestible for your pets, either. Any of these items (wrappers, ribbons, plastic grass, etc) can get caught in your pet’s digestive system and result in choking or intestinal problems.

•Easter is a holiday that is commonly associated with the Easter Bunny, who brings chocolate! Chocolate is extremely bad for your pet. You can take a look at this wonderful interactive "Chocolate Chart" from National Geographic, to see how many ounces of chocolate your dog can eat and how sick they will get. Scroll to how many pounds your dog weighs to see the effects on your size and type of dog. Just remember, that chocolate is extremely toxic to pets!

•If you are having an Easter egg hunt in your house or in your backyard, please clean up all of the eggs after the hunt is over. If you are using the beautifully dyed, hardboiled eggs, make sure that your pet does not get to them. After finding a rotten, old Easter egg, (days or weeks later) pets still might eat it and become tremendously sick. Try using plastic colorful eggs, but also be cautious of your pet trying to get into those to devour the insides, also!

These springtime holidays are meant for you and your pets to enjoy, and not meant for your pets to get sick. Center Pet hopes that you and your pets have a safe and wonderful Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter!