Your Home Might Be Potentially Loaded with Deadly Toxins
March is National Pet Poison Prevention Month. In today’s Dog Blog we will focus on deadly toxins that might already exist in your home, some you might never consider. We’ll also give some statistics on pet poisonings, and provide you with information on how you can contact a Pet Poison Help Line. Let’s dig deep into potential health threats that could be lurking in your pet friendly abode.
Neighboring with the Enemy
In all, there are over 230,000 pet poisonings each year in the United States. This number includes accidental and intentional poisonings, and the reality is that in many cases it’s impossible to tell if the animal was purposely poisoned or accidentally came in contact with a toxic substance. Some humans simply don’t like animals, or they’ve become jaded towards a pet because of their behavior or suspected behavior. The reasons are endless on why someone would choose to take a pets life with poison, and many of the people who perpetrate the act are simply never caught. Those that are found to be responsible normally name actions like “uncontrolled, loud barking at all hours” or “digging in their yard/flower bed” or “the animal tried to bite them” or “the animal roams free and they are fearful for their families safety”. Some people just don’t like a species, breed, or pets in general and take action out of spite or some mental issue.
The best way to control human intervention in poisoning your fur kids is to monitor the animals at all times, even in your own back yard or on your property. It’s easy to lob a poison filled ball of meat, or to pour antifreeze out on the driveway. To the angry neighbor, no one will be the wiser and the pest will be eliminated. If the animal is outside, you need to have eyes and ears on them. Walk the yard or enclosed area before you let them roam free. Curb bad or annoying behavior like non-stop barking, digging, jumping up on people, or nipping at ankles or elbows. What may not seem like a “big deal” to you, might be the last straw for your neighbor. Realistically, a small percentage of humans would have the mean spirit, aggression, and out of control anger to poison an animal. It’s better for you to be safe than sorry and monitor your pet, keep them safe, and DO NOT let them roam free without supervision.
Help is a Phone Call Away
Our friends at the ASPCA provide a list of the most common toxins that might exist in your home. Everything from what you would expect, to some that might amaze you, reside on this list. We’ll go over the most common on the list, give you some real life numbers on the impact of pets ingesting these poisons, and then talk about what you can to to prepare your home, and what to do if you suspect your favorite furry might have accidentally poisoned themselves.
There are multiple Pet Poison Hot lines run by various organizations. These “Help Lines” are normally manned 24/7/365 and can advise pet owners and provide life saving information, tips, and at home treatments (if the toxin is non-life threatening). They will also advise if you need to get your pet to your veterinarian or, in some cases, go to an Urgent Care or Emergency Vet.
The ASPCA Poison Control Center annually takes over 375,000 calls from pet owners who believe their pet is in danger from ingesting toxins. We’ll give you their number at the end of this blog, with a list of information you should have prior to calling their number.
Could Your Home be a Toxic Nightmare for your Pet?
Let’s review the ASPCA List of Pet Toxins. This information is based on their own hot line call logs, as well as information available from many other sources.
Lastly, we want to talk about veterinary products and medications. If your flea/tick meds come in a tasty chew, or you have calming tablets, or even dental treats, assure your pet can’t “free roam” on these items. They are meant to be given in small doses over a set time frame. Too much can lead to accidental overdoses. Also, it’s important to mention that you should never give one dog another dogs medications. It may seem like the same meds would be okay for another dog with the same symptoms, however things like weight, age, size, breed, and other health factors are taken into consideration when writing a Rx script and dosing a pet. Let the professionals diagnose and treat illness and don’t use your parent intuition. Your pets health could depend on your good judgment.
What if I think my Dog has Ingested some Toxic Substance?
Firstly, don’t panic (easy to say, right?). Keeping your wits, gathering information, making a phone call to either your primary care veterinarian, or a pet poison hot line, having the ability to remain calm and in control so you can give critical information, all these are key to giving your pet the best chance to get the treatment they need and hopefully recover.
Here are two numbers for your Information Book:
Pet Poison Helpline – 855/764-7661
ASPCA Animal Poison Control – 888/426-4435
Keep in mind that these hot lines may charge you for their services, so be prepared with a form of payment. Also, just as a disclaimer, Freddie’s Place does is not associated with either company, and we do not suggest, endorse, or represent either service.
Hopefully, you will never have to worry about your pet ingesting any toxic items. It’s our mission to assure that if an emergency arises you are prepared, ready, and knowledgeable enough to calmly and effectively be a help to your fur kids in need. Take the time to gather, catalog, and update the information in a book that you keep in one easy to access location. This book could save a your pets life.
Speaking of toxins and accidental poisoning… Easter Weekend is upon us. Uncle Ed and Aunt Jean will be stopping by… and they LOVE to table feed your pets. Be the responsible pet parent and “politely” set some ground rules of what and when to feed treats and snacks. Be the hero and supply them with some “approved” treats so they can still be the fun loving, pet spoiling, good time couple they always are… just in a pet friendlier manner. Also, they will bring Easter Baskets and candy that are not pet safe. Be sure the presents, baskets, and any other items are safely out of pets reach. Can you imagine what a basket full of plastic grass, chocolate eggs, pixie sticks, and marshmallow bunnies could do to your fur kids insides? Do you have that hot line number memorized?
That’s all for this weeks Dog Blog. We hope that you learned a thing or three from the information we provided. With the Easter Bunny coming this Sunday morning, we sincerely wish all of our readers a wonderful Easter Holiday, all the great food you can eat, lots of quality time with friends and family, all the rest you can fit into a hectic weekend, and above all else… the happiest and pest friendliest holiday that you could dream of, #FreddieSez.
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