While we want everyone to enjoy the holiday festivities, pet safety and health is always our first priority. Use these tips to keep your pet happy and healthy through any St. Patrick’s Day extravaganzas!
- Keep ALL alcoholic beverages away from your pet: Alcohol is toxic to dogs and many enjoy the taste of beers or fruity mixed drinks, so be sure all your beverages are up and out of access of your pets.
- Skip the corned beef: Salt toxicity is a serious danger to our pets. The salty deliciousness of corned beef may be too much for your pet to handle, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, and potentially death.
- Stay cautious of your neighborhood festivities: It is likely that many bars are crowded and your neighbor is having a party to watch the parade. Keep an eye out for broken glass, pieces of broken or damaged decorations, or food on the ground that your pet may get into. If your pet is also anxious around loud noises or crowds of people, it is best to keep them away from the celebrations.
- Make sure any festive strangers know how to properly behave around your animal: Children don’t always know how to properly greet a cat or dog and adults can get so swept up in the holiday that they forget their animal manners. Scared pets can act defensively, resulting in people or your pet getting hurt.
- If you’re the party host, create a safe space for your pet: Provide a “no humans allowed” room for your pet to retreat to if the party gets too crazy. This room should have a favorite blanket or toy, access to water and their normal food, and free of any potential hazards.
- If you feel your pet needs to go green for the holiday, make sure they’re comfortable: Clothing that is too tight can restrict breathing while clothing that is too large can cause your pet to trip and fall. Outfits should also not restrict vision or ear movement. Hair dye and nail polish should be pet safe and is best done by a professional groomer.
Here at Emerald Animal Hospital, we hope everyone has a safe and fun St. Patrick’s Day. If you have further questions or have a medical concern for your pet, give us a call at 216-749-7161. We will be happy to meet your pet and go over any questions, perform any necessary diagnostics, and develop a treatment plan that works for you and your animal companion. Or, if you want your pet to be fabulously green this holiday weekend, ask for an appointment with our groomer, Briana! Briana is an experienced groomer and has recently added pet-safe hair dye techniques as well as nail polish to her repertoire!