Fall and Winter Pet Hazards
Question: Are there
any particular pet hazards I can try to avoid during the fall and
winter?
Veterinarians deal with
serious life-threatening injuries every day in their practices.
Many of these accidental injuries could easily be avoided if we all used
an ounce of prevention. Some of the frequent fall and winter
"accidents" we see at our clinic include the following:
- One
autumn activity is to jump in the pickup truck for a quick trip and
let your dog ride in the back. No one purposely puts their pet
in danger, but anyone who allows their pet to ride in the back of
the pickup sets themselves up for disaster. Jumping or being
thrown from a moving vehicle nearly always results in serious
injuries and, at times, death. An animal who is tethered
doesn't usually fare much better because the tie-down rope is
generally attached to their neck and they take the full impact of
the trauma on an area very susceptible to injury. To avoid any
injuries, please keep your pet either in the cab or in a kennel
secured to the box as close to the cab as possible.
- As
people begin to winterize their vehicle, we start to see a lot of
antifreeze poisoning. Both dogs and cats like the taste of
this toxic substance and the results of ingestion are usually
deadly. It takes very little antifreeze to be lethal for your
pets. There is a nontoxic form of antifreeze, and I encourage
all pet owners to buy and use it in their vehicles and boats.
Nearly all of us have heard about antifreeze toxicity in the past,
but we still see several cases a year at our clinic.
- As
the weather starts to get colder, people in urban areas begin to
have furry little visitors try to move in with them. Out comes
the "mouse bait." Be very careful with these poisons
as accidental pet ingestion is disastrous. The ingredients
have become much more deadly and longer acting and the packaging has
become more attractive to pets. Consider using one of the
various mouse traps or ultrasonic devices available on the market.
- And
finally, in the fall and winter months, we also have to treat a lot
of fan belt injuries. To keep warm, cats will crawl into the
engine compartment of a vehicle and are injured when the engine
starts before they can exit. If you leave our car outside or
in a garage where cats might be, remember to beep your horn and wait
five to ten seconds before starting your engine. The kitty you save
may be your own or a neighbor's pet seeking a temporary warming house.
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