We're days away from Thanksgiving Day when we all enjoy the companionship of family and friends and a great dinner.
But so will your pets.
So many delicious smells of turkey cooking and family and friends who fall for the well-practiced hungry stare for just a small piece of your food.
Be careful with what you feed your dog and cat on Turkey Day. Here are some suggestions to keep your pal's Thanksgiving healthy.
Put the trash away where your dog cannot find it. The leftover turkey sitting on the kitchen island, left out on the dining room table, or left in an available trash container are a feast for your dog.
Turkey bones may splinter and lodge in a dog's mouth, throat, esophagus or somewhere along the GI tract.
Anything used to tie up the turkey -- such as strings, bags and packaging -- could cause an intestinal blockage in a dog or cat that can become life-threatening.
High fat foods, such as turkey skin, may cause gastrointestinal upset with diarrhea and/or vomiting, or even pancreatitis that can be a life-threatening disease.
All those great chocolates around the house will be toxic to your pal if given in sufficient quantities. Small dogs do not need to eat much chocolate to run into trouble.
A dog can consume a box of See's Candies in minutes -- paper and all.
Macadamia nuts can cause weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors, hyperthermia and paralysis. Grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure in dogs.
Xylitol, a commonly used artificial sweetener, is extremely toxic to dogs and cats. Sugar-free gum has xylitol, as does sugar-free candy, breath mints, peanut butter and baked goods. Xylitol is 100 times more toxic than chocolate to dogs. Dogs love to chew ABC gum.
Onion and garlic can also be harmful to dogs and cats. The ingestion of onion and garlic powders and raw or cooked garlic bulbs can cause damage to red blood cells, which could result in anemia.
Garlic is 1-5 times more potent than onion, and concentrated powdered forms such as garlic powder and onion soup mix are more potent than raw garlic.
The ingestion of raw yeast dough can also be life-threatening to dogs. Moisture from stomach juices combined with the dog's body heat enable replication of the yeast and development of a rising ball of dough in the stomach, which can cause painful gas and dangerous bloating.
Signs seen with bread dough ingestion include severe abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, lack of coordination and depression.
Various holiday plants and flowers may be toxic, such as baby's breath, amaryllis, hydrangeas, lilies, Sweet William, assorted ferns, Sago palms and more.
The ASPCA has resource lists of toxic plants and flowers on its website. If you believe your pet has eaten something toxic, call the ASPCA Poison Control Hotline at 1.888.426.4435, and take your pal to the veterinary urgent care or ER.
Signs of a problem may be depression, pain, changes in behavior, vomiting, diarrhea and shivering.
Pine needles, pinec ones, artificial leaves and flowers, decorative corn cobs and other holiday knickknacks if eaten could potentially cause intestinal blockages or perforation.
Sometimes all the new people visiting can cause a mild-mannered dog or cat to become nervous.
Unknowing guests may leave the door open, or the gate and your pal is on the move.
Be sure your dog has an ID on its collar, is microchipped and has a GPS device attached to its collar.
I hope this was not too much information. I just want you and you pal to have a great holiday. Maybe bake or buy your dog or cat treats made just for them.