The Holiday season can be a hazardous time for pets.
Dr. Cheri Galatiuk is a Veterinarian at the Williams Lake Veterinary Hospital and she said one concern is that some of the fertilizer from real Christmas trees along with bacteria can be in the water used to keep it fresh.
Dr. Galatiuk said one of the biggest emergencies they see over Christmas is chocolate ingesting, especially in dogs.
“If your dog does eat chocolate it really depends on how much, what kind, and how big your dog is, so if they do eat it, please do call your Veterinary Hospital for advice about what to do at that point, To avoid having to make that phone call, just keep that out of the reach of your pet.”
Holiday plants can also make problems for curious pets.
“Poinsettias are definitely toxic to both cats and dogs and should be kept out of their reach. Their symptoms though are milder than some other of our Christmas plants. Lillies are one of the ones that we’re mainly concerned about with cats.”
And with bone-chilling temperatures on the way this weekend Dr. Galatiuk said it’s important to keep your pets out of the elements and to make sure that they have free access to water all the time.