All the Creatures

Like it or not, illegal drugs are a part of our society. Your neighbor or even someone in your home may have a drug habit. What you need to be aware of is the fact that your pets maybe affected by illegal drugs.  Drugs that can easily be absorbed through the skin is what you need to be on the look out for. Heroin, cocaine and opium all can be easily absorbed through dogs and cats paws. Both animals are likely to lick their paws if they have walked through something that irritates them. That increases the odds of exposure. Dogs are easier to control their wanderings but cats, unless they are kept inside 24/7 are more likely to become exposed.

So what can you do? Unlike humans that can undergo a rapid opiate detox program, pets are quite different. They will be more quickly affected and because of their small size they will need a trip to the vet fast. Rapid breathing and heartbeat which can lead to a heart attack or respiratory failure are a the main worries.

Keep your pet safe and suspect illegal drugs or toxins should your pet start to act “strange,” after a trip outside.

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My little min pin is spoiled rotten…..well not really but my husband thinks he is. For his own special bed he has a huge thick quilt that I was originally going to throw out. In fact all of our old blankets and quilts are now recycled into pet beds. At one time I use to actually buy doggy beds and then find out that the dogs would never use them. But they loved the old blankets and quilts that I gave them. No more dark circle under eyes from looking at my computer screen, trying to shop for a dog bed that ended up being a waste of money.

Do yourself a favor and recycle for your pets. Even an old t-shirt that has been stuffed and all of its openings sewed shut can make a great pillow for your pet.

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With the yearly winter holiday season coming up fast, it is also time to keep an eye on your pets if you bring any seasonal plants into your home. Poinsettia, mistletoe and ivy are several of the obvious ones that come to mind. Which ones are poisonous and which ones aren’t?

Let’s take a look at some the common poisonous plants that your pet might come into contact with. First there is the poinsettia.  A small bush that has leaf brackets that change color to mimic flowers. The “flowers” come in a wide variety of colors from red, white to purple. The plant is pretty to look at and it is not poisonous to humans or pets. In order to just get sick from ingesting the plant, a pet would have to eat about a pound of leaves to get an upset stomach. Not to worry, because the plant leaves are reported to be extremely bitter to the taste so it is unlikely that your pet would taste or eat more than one bite.

What about mistletoe? Well the same thing as the poinsettia, the berries are toxic but only in very large quantities. So unless you have pounds of berries all over the house then you don’t have to worry about your pet ingesting them.

English Ivy on the other hand is toxic to pets and horses. The symptoms are vomiting, abdominal pain, hypersalivation, diarrhea.

While doing some brief research on this subject I found many misconceptions on the subject. The old one about poinsettias being poisonous is still making the rounds after being proved false almost 50 years ago. If you really need some accurate information on what plants are poisonous to your pets and livestock. please invest in a book with photos of the plants so you can refer to it when you need to. I am sure you can find one on sale at your nearest bookstore. Don’t rely on questionable hearsay from slapped together websites and blogs put up just for advertising. You pet’s life is worth more to you than that.

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