Page 17 - Boca Club News - July '24

Boca Club News, Page 17
Pet Matters
Pet Matters
You and Your Pet:
My Pet Ate What? …What do I Do?
By Robert Fryer, DVM, Emergency Veterinarian at Calusa
Veterinary Center, 6900 Congress Avenue, Boca Raton, FL mischievous. Dirty laundry is a common fascination for
33487 (561) 999-3000. www.CVCBoca.com. dogs. Strings and ribbons are quite interesting to cats. The
Is your pet perfect? Of course she is! Does your pet listen
and mind well? Of course he does! Are your pets trustworthy
and well-mannered? Of course they are! Might your pets to kittens. The bait on that fishhook looks really appetizing
ingest something toxic or harmful? Of course not! to our canine fishing buddy.
We all want to believe that our pets are good decision
makers. We certainly do not expect our pets to do anything
that would be harmful to themselves. But the truth is that our
furry family members are often not the best decision makers
and can absolutely put themselves in harm’s way. What happens if the ingested object is not surgically
Dogs and cats are curious and sometimes even retrievable? What do we do when our dog swallows
grandpa’s heart medication? What do we do when our cat
licks the medical marijuana butter? Truth be told, there are
kitchen and bathroom trash cans can be irresistible to puppies. products all around the house that are toxic to our pets:
Plastic bags, rubber bands and hair ties can be really enticing human pharmaceuticals, chocolate bars, medical marijuana
products, Cane Toads (outside), household cleaners, plants
and flowers, alcohol, fruits, pest control products and illicit
When our dogs ingest that dirty sock and our cats swallow drugs. What happens when our curious and mischievous pets
the colorful ribbon, we can resolve the problem with surgery. get into these products?
As Veterinarians, we are trained and skilled at removing non- We are fortunate to have Veterinarians specifically
digestible objects from the bellies of our pets. trained in Toxicology and they are only a phone call away.
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center and the Pet
Poison Helpline are available 24/7 for consultations. When
our furry friends ingest something potentially harmful we
can get reliable advice from trained professionals within
minutes. These poison control centers work together with
your Veterinarian to provide the best care for your pet when
time is of the essence. In an emergency a consultation with
a Poison Control Center provides critical information for
immediate (and often life-saving) treatment of your pet.
In the emergency room at Calusa Veterinary Center we
have successfully managed multiple marijuana ingestions,
chocolate ingestions, illicit drug exposures, pest control
product ingestions, human pharmaceutical ingestions and
veterinary medication overdoses. In nearly all situations the
timely involvement of the Pet Poison Control Center provided
critical and valuable information for the immediate treatment
of the pet.
If your dog or cat ingests something potentially harmful,
immediately call one of the Pet Poison Control Centers. These
hotlines provide immediate assistance and advice for your
pet’s care to both you and your Veterinarian.
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: (888) 426-4435.
Pet Poison Hotline: (855) 764-7661. Keep these numbers
in a permanently convenient place with you at all times, for
your pet’s sake and yours.
A Free Opportunity
For Animal
Lovers ...
Now Feed 6 Shelter Dogs and Cats
Every Day at No Cost to You ...
in Less Than a Minute ...with just “Click”
Want to feel really good about yourself? If, like
most of us, those TV announcements bring tears to
your eyes with photos of sad shelter dogs and cats in
small cages, hoping somehow to be brought into loving
homes – when you wish over and over again that you
could somehow bring joy into their lives, here is an act
of loving kindness that will cost you absolutely nothing
... and take less than a minute a day.
Visit the website: www.theanimalrescuesite.com
and click on the words “Click here to feed a dog or
cat.” A “button” will appear on your screen, and all
you have to do is click on it once. Each time a person
clicks on that button, the website’s sponsors provide
bowls of food, free, to feed 6 dogs and cats.
That’s all there is to it. In only seconds each day,
you can see to it that 6 animals are fed. The folks
who run the website never bother you with tons of
promotional e-mails. You can, if you wish, click on
a link that sends a daily reminder to you. I did that;
the reminder is e-mailed, and that is it. No hard-sell
follow-ups. And if you realize how good it will make
you feel to be able to do at least something for these
poor, loving creatures who are there through no fault
of their own (some have been rescued from abusive
owners), imagine how even bowls of food will help
make the animals feel
better.
Please take just
seconds a day to lift 6
animals’ spirits ... and
your own. Thanks.