Tips for Having a Safe & Fun Easter with Your Pets

With Easter just around the corner, we start planning holiday meals, baking and looking forward to celebrating the holidays with family and friends, so now it’s the perfect time to make sure that we take our pets and their safety into consideration and plan accordingly so everyone in your family can be safe and enjoy the holidays.

Here are a few safety tips to make sure your pets can be safe and have fun during Easter.

1. Please stay away from the plastic grass for Easter baskets, it can become caught up at the back of the tongue or in the stomach of your dog making it impossible to pass through their digestive system. It can ultimately cause severe damage to the intestinal tract and require surgery.

If you using the grass, please make sure that the baskets are put away out of reach of your pets.

1. Easter chocolate is very dangerous for your dog, the darker the chocolate the more toxic for your pet. Please make sure that all of the chocolate eggs and bunnies are not reachable by your dog.
2. It is a great idea to include your dog in an Easter egg hunt, please plan accordingly, put your dog treats in one specific color eggs, or buy metallic color eggs, so you know which ones are filled with the candy for children and which ones are for your dog. Fill the eggs with treats that have a strong smell, like freeze-dried liver, so your dog can follow his nose and find his treasures.
3. If you are planning on having your family and friends over for Easter it is a good idea to feed your dog prior to everyone arrival, with full belly he won’t be so tempted to beg for food from your guests. People unknowingly may feed him food that’s not good for him and will make him sick.
4. Some of the spring plants like many different species of lilies are highly toxic to cats if you see your cat licking the flowers take them to the vet immediately, the sooner you get there the better chance you have of saving their life. The vet can induce vomiting and give activated charcoal to bind poisons in the gut and will most likely start IV fluids to flush the kidneys.
5. Also if you have children over, they have a tendency to leave their drinks around the house, remember that caffeinated drinks and alcohol are also toxic to animals and symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea decreased coordination and difficulty breathing.

If you want to treat your pets for Easter, bake them some special treats, like liver or peanut butter cookies. You can find a simple, healthy recipes online and if you are making Easter treats for the children, you can use the same cookie cutters to make their treats even more special and festive looking.

Now that you, your family and animals are properly prepared for Easter visitors, have a great celebration, enjoy your family and friend, human as well as canine.

Mira Alicki is a jewelry designer and goldsmith for the past 22 years. Her passion for animals led her to create her own line of jewelry and online store to benefit charities. 40% of each purchase is donated back to the animal community. You can find Mira on Twitter (@FIMHjewelry) or at www.ForeverInMyHeartJewelry.com.

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