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Valentine's Day Safety Tips For Pets
Valentine's Day can be a festive and fun time of year for couples, children and families, but for family pets, it can be a stressful and even dangerous time of year. The Atlanta Humane Society offers pet owners some commonsense tips to help owners keep their pets safe during this time of year.
- Chocolate in all forms—especially dark or baking chocolate—can be very dangerous for dogs and cats. Symptoms of significant chocolate ingestion may include vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, increased thirst, urination and heart rate—and even seizures.
- Candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can be poisonous to dogs. Even small amounts of xylitol sweetener can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar, which leads to depression, lack of coordination and seizures. In cases of significantly low blood sugar, liver failure has been known to occur.
- Ingesting tin foil and cellophane candy wrappers can pose a choking hazard or cause intestinal blockage.