Summer pet safety tips from Humane Society of Scott County 2011/06/29 at 2:13 am
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Press release submitted by Danielle Scott
How to keep pets safe during the summer season: Tips from the Humane Society of Scott County
June 28, 2011 Summer is a time for the whole family, including pets, to enjoy the great outdoors. However, summer can bring potential health hazards to pets. The Humane Society of Scott County offers some pet summer safety tips:
DO:
Know the warning signs of heatstroke: excessive panting or drooling, rapid breathing, dark or bright red tongue or gums, staggering, body temperature of 104-110 degrees
Fahrenheit and bloody diarrhea or vomiting. If heatstroke is suspected, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Give your pets plenty of fresh, clean water. Make sure your pets have a shady place to get out of the sun, be careful to not over-exercise them, and keep them indoors when its extremely hot.
Take leisurely walks during the cooler times of the day, such as the morning or evening hours. Remember to protect your dogs feet from getting scorched by hot pavement.
Keep citronella candles, oil products and insect coils out of pets reach. Ingestions or inhalations can cause health problems.
Try to keep your pet from drinking pool water, which contains chlorine and other chemicals that could upset their stomach.
Matches and lighter fluid are harmful to pets if swallowed or inhaled. Be sure to place used and unused matches out of reach from pets this includes sparkler sticks and other remains from firecrackers, etc.
Not only does the sight and noise of fireworks scare pets, but accidents can happen while dealing with fire. If you cant supervise your pet closely, keep your animals inside and away from the festivities.
Keep your pets on their normal diet. Any change can give your pet severe indigestion and diarrhea. And keep in mind that food such as onions, chocolate, coffee, avocado, grapes amp; raisins, salt and yeast dough can all be potentially toxic to animals.
Keep all unscreened windows or doors in your home closed and make sure adjustable screens are tightly secured to prevent your pet from escaping or slipping and injuring
itself in a fall.
Make sure pets are wearing identification tags or are micro-chipped so that if they get lost, they can be returned promptly.
DONT:
Never leave your pet unattended in a parked car. The temperature inside the car can rise to dangerous levels within minutes and your pet could suffer from heatstroke, or even death. It is also against the law.
Never leave alcoholic drinks unattended where pets can reach them. These can be poisonous for animals.
Never use fireworks around pets. Exposure to lit fireworks can potentially result in severe burns or trauma to pets and even unused fireworks can be hazardous. Many types of fireworks contain toxic substances such as potassium nitrate, copper, chlorates, arsenic and other heavy metals.