New Year’s Eve is a fun night full of libations and celebration. People celebrate New Year’s in many different ways with many different traditions. In Australia, they bang pots and pans on the streets at Midnight, in Brazil they wear white to scare away bad spirits, in Russia they write down a wish on a piece of paper, burn it and throw it into a champagne glass and drink it before 12:01 – sounds delightful. Here is South Dallas, well, you know…but while the people are having fun, remember that New Year’s Eve in South Dallas is no fun for dogs. Gunshot and fireworks cause an epic number of dogs to be lost over this holiday. Good, responsible dog owners lose their dogs. Here are some tips to keep Fido safe and happy this New Year’s Eve.
New Year’s Party Time Tips
Around the House:
- Never leave alcoholic drinks unattended where pets can reach them. Alcoholic beverages have the potential to poison pets. If ingested, the animal could become very intoxicated and weak, severely depressed or could go into a coma. Death from respiratory failure is also a possibility in severe cases.
- Keep your pets on their normal diet. Any change, even for one meal, can give your pets severe indigestion and diarrhea. This is particularly true for older animals who have more delicate digestive systems and nutritional requirements. And keep in mind that foods such as onions, chocolate, coffee, avocado, grapes & raisins, salt and yeast dough can all be potentially toxic to companion animals.
- Do not put glow jewelry on your pets, or allow them to play with it. While the luminescent substance contained in these products is not highly toxic, excessive drooling and gastrointestinal irritation could still result from ingestions, and intestinal blockage could occur from swallowing large pieces of the plastic containers.
Fireworks and Gunshots
- Bring your dogs IN! You don’t want to be outside during the gunshots and mayhem – either do they!
- Loud, crowded fireworks displays are no fun for pets, so please resist the urge to taking them outside to enjoy the festivities. Instead, keep your little guys safe from the noise in a quiet, sheltered and escape-proof area at home.
- Crate your dog and put on the TV or the radio to help drown out the noise.
- If you dog isn’t crate trained, put them in a quiet escape proof room with their dog bed to keep them safe and away from the commotion. Turn on the radio or TV to help drown out the noise.
- Give your dog a kong, a chew bone, an antler, or other toy to keep them distracted during the high point of the noise at midnight.
- Make sure your pets are wearing their collars and tags at all times. The fireworks and gunshots will continue over the weekend – make sure your dog has its collar and ID encase of an accidental escape.
- If your dog is mircochipped, make sure your dog’s chip is registered and the info the chip company has is up to date. Does the chip company have an old land line phone number as your contact number or your cell phone number? Hmmm…call and check. It just takes a minute.
- If you can’t bring your dogs in for the night, make sure to check your fence and gate for any weak spots ahead of New Year’s Eve. Many dogs panic and find the weak spot in the fence in order to escape the chaos of the evening.
- Never use fireworks around pets! While exposure to lit fireworks can potentially result in severe burns and/or trauma to the face and paws of curious pets, even unused fireworks can pose a danger. Many types contain potentially toxic substances, including potassium nitrate, arsenic and other heavy metals.
Now that you are all prepared to keep Fido safe and happy during the big celebration – have fun and Happy New Year!