Bloodwork: Why Even Young and Healthy Pets Benefit

Did you know, though, that healthy pets sometimes need diagnostic testing, like bloodwork, too? That’s right! Sometimes, we recommend running a blood test on healthy pets for the following reasons.

Bloodwork: Why Even Young and Healthy Pets Benefit

When you bring a sick pet to the veterinarian, you expect us to do some diagnostic testing to determine the underlying cause of their illness. Did you know, though, that healthy pets sometimes need diagnostic testing, like bloodwork, too?
That’s right! Sometimes, we recommend running a blood test on healthy pets for the following reasons.
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6 Reasons Why We Might Recommend a Blood Test for Your Healthy Pet

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1. Establish a Baseline of Health
Testing a sample of your pet’s blood when they’re healthy and normal helps us establish a baseline of what your pet’s blood counts and organ function look like when they’re healthy. As a result, we’re better able to identify slight changes that could indicate developing problems.
2. Check for Parasites
We use a blood test to screen your pets for signs of parasites like heartworms. It’s essential to test dogs for heartworm infection before administering a heartworm parasite preventative because giving a heartworm preventative to a dog that has already been infected could be fatal.
3. Check Organ Function Before Surgery
A blood test helps us determine whether a pet is healthy enough to undergo general anesthesia before surgery or a pet dental cleaning.
4. Check Organ Function Before Prescribing Medication
Certain medications can be hard on a pet’s organs, so it’s essential to ensure that they’re healthy before we write a prescription.
5. Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Disease
Routine bloodwork for healthy pets helps us detect the earliest signs of disease. Early diagnosis leads to more effective treatment and helps us prevent your pets from getting seriously ill.
6. Ongoing Disease and Medication Management
Otherwise healthy pets that are living with chronic diseases require regular bloodwork to ensure that their medication is effective and their disease is safely managed.

Complete Wellness and Preventative Care for Pets in Wisconsin

We recommend that healthy adult pets visit the veterinarian at least once a year for a physical examination, vaccine boosters, and all the wellness and preventative care they need to stay healthy and happy. Senior pets, pets living with chronic diseases, puppies, and kittens typically need to visit the veterinary clinic a little more frequently. Our veterinarians can help you determine the schedule that’s right for your pet.
To learn more about bloodwork or to schedule your pet’s next wellness appointment, we welcome you to contact Animal Wellness Center today.

Protect Your Pets for National Pet Immunization Awareness Month

Our veterinary experts want to use the opportunity to help raise awareness about the importance of pet vaccinations while helping pet owners understand all the reasons why we immunize our pets.

Protect Your Pets for National Pet Immunization Awareness Month

August is National Pet Immunization Awareness Month, and at Animal Wellness Center, our veterinary experts want to use the opportunity to help raise awareness about the importance of pet vaccinations while helping pet owners understand all the reasons why we immunize our pets.
There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding vaccinations lately. Pet vaccinations, however, are among the safest and most effective ways to protect your pets from the most dangerous and highly contagious diseases around.
We encourage you to keep reading to find out why it’s so important to vaccinate your pets!
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Top 6 Reasons Why We Immunize Our Pets

1. It’s Safe and Effective
Immunization is the most effective way to prevent several diseases in dogs and cats. Plus, vaccinations are safe. While there’s always a risk of a pet having an adverse reaction to a vaccine, these reactions are usually minor and quite rare.
2. It’s Often Required by Law
Many vaccinations are required for pets by local laws. Failing to provide your pets with these vaccinations could result in fines and even being forced to surrender your pet.
3. It Prevents Pets From Getting Sick
Vaccination prevents your pets from suffering the ill effects of several dangerous diseases – many of which have no curative treatment. Not vaccinating your pets could result in your pet suffering painful symptoms and even facing death.
4. It Protects Humans From Zoonotic Disease
Several vaccinations prevent zoonotic diseases, infectious diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans.
5. It’s Cost-Effective
Vaccinating pets is always less expensive than the cost treating a sick pet.
6. It Creates a Safer Community
Vaccinating pets reduces the amount of disease in the pets, wildlife, and people in your community.
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Schedule a Wellness and Preventative Care Appointment

If you’ve adopted a new pet or it’s been more than a year since your pet’s last preventative care appointment, we encourage you to schedule an appointment at one of Animal Wellness Center’s five Wisconsin locations.
Our veterinarians can talk with you about your pet’s vaccine history, infectious disease exposure risk, and recommend an appropriate vaccination schedule. We’ll also talk with you about everything else you can do to keep your pet happy and healthy like providing proper nutrition, exercise, and protecting your pet from parasites.
To learn more or schedule your pet’s next appointment, contact us today.

Safety Tips for Traveling with Pets

It’s hard to believe that we’re already well into the heart of the summer travel season. If you still have an upcoming trip scheduled and plan to take your pets, then continue reading to make sure your whole family – furry members included – can enjoy your time away.

Safety Tips for Traveling with Pets

It’s hard to believe that we’re already well into the heart of the summer travel season. If you still have an upcoming trip scheduled and plan to take your pets, then continue reading to make sure your whole family – furry members included – can enjoy your time away.

6 Travel Safety Tips for Pets

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1. Have the Right Documents
If you’ll be crossing state lines, visiting another country, or traveling on public transportation, your pet will require documents certifying his or her health. This might include vaccination records and/or a certified pet health certificate.
Take a look at local laws and airport regulations well before your departure date to be sure your pet has what they need to travel freely.
2. Make Sure Your Pet’s Protected
Depending on where you’re traveling, your pet could potentially be exposed to different contagious diseases and/or parasites than they are exposed to at home. Before leaving, talk with one of our veterinarians about whether your pet should have any additional vaccinations or parasite preventatives before traveling to a new region.
3. Schedule Travel Breaks
If you’ll be hitting the road with your dog or cat as your co-pilot, be sure to leave yourself plenty of travel time that allows you to take frequent breaks to let your pet stretch out and mark some new territory…if you know what we mean.
4. Map Out Emergency Veterinary Care
Health emergencies can happen when you least expect them. Before you leave, research the locations of emergency veterinary clinics along your travel route and at your destination so you’ll be ready in case your pet requires immediate veterinary care.
5. Pack for Your Pet
Make a checklist to ensure you pack everything your pet needs. Bring plenty of water and food (more than you think you need) for the road, medications, extra leashes, and your pet’s favorite blanket, toy, or bed to reduce anxiety.
6. Update ID Tags and Get a Microchip
In unfamiliar places, pets can easily get scared and run away, quickly becoming disoriented and lost. Make sure your pet’s collar and ID tags have current, readable information. Additionally, you should get a microchip for your pet (and register your contact information with it before you leave).

Schedule a Pre-Trip Appointment at Animal Wellness Center

To make sure your pet has all the necessary identification, vaccinations, parasite preventatives, and health certificates to stay safe and travel to your destination, we encourage you to schedule a veterinary appointment well before the date of your departure.
Our veterinarians at Animal Wellness Center will make sure your pets have everything they need before you’re ready to leave.

How to Address Seasonal Allergy Flare-Ups

Just like some people get allergies during certain times of the year, our pets can suffer from seasonal allergies, too. These environmental sensitivities can make them itchy and miserable. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to help manage your pet’s seasonal allergy flare-ups.

How to Address Seasonal Allergy Flare-Ups

Just like some people get allergies during certain times of the year, our pets can suffer from seasonal allergies, too. These environmental sensitivities can make them itchy and miserable. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to help manage your pet’s seasonal allergy flare-ups.
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6 Tips to Help Your Pet With Seasonal Allergies

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1. Change Your Walking Routine
Try not to walk your dog in the early morning or late afternoon when the pollen counts are highest. This will limit your pet’s exposure to common seasonal allergies.
2. Purify Indoor Air
Keep the air inside your house as clean and free from allergens as possible. This means keeping the windows closed, using an air purifier, and making sure the filters on your HVAC system are clean.
3. Clean Surfaces
Whether they come in through an open window or get tracked inside on your feet or your pet’s paws, allergens inside your home can irritate your pet. Keep your floors clean and wash your pet’s bedding regularly to further limit indoor exposure.
4. Add Supplements
Allergies are caused by a wonky immune response to allergens that causes excessive inflammation. Adding nutritional supplements with anti-inflammatory effects like the omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids in fish oil can help limit your pet’s immune response to allergens.
5. Brush and Bathe
With all that fur, it’s easy for allergens like pollen and dust to get caught in your pet’s coat and continue irritating them long after you come indoors. During your pet’s allergy season, be sure to keep their skin and coat clean with regular brushing and bathing. Clearing allergens and other debris from their coats will reduce itching, help them feel more comfortable, and limit their exposure.
6. Know the Signs of Pet Allergies
You can’t help your pet with their seasonal allergies if you don’t even realize they have them. It’s important to know that allergies can cause different symptoms in pets than in humans.
The most common symptom is itching, but allergies can also lead to:
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Schedule a Pet Allergy Consultation at Animal Wellness Center

If do-it-yourself allergy control is not providing your pet with enough relief, we encourage you to schedule a pet allergy appointment with one of our veterinarians at Animal Wellness Center. We’ll evaluate your pet and provide you with a variety of more powerful allergy treatment options including antihistamine medications and even immunotherapy for pets.
To learn more or schedule an appointment for your dog or cat, contact us today!

The Dangers of Heartworm Disease and How to Prevent It

When mosquitoes are active, cats and dogs are at risk of getting heartworms, and these pesky parasites can put the health of our pets in serious danger.

The Dangers of Heartworm Disease and How to Prevent It

Mosquitos are active in Wisconsin from May through September (or until the weather gets cold enough that they start to die off). When mosquitoes are active, cats and dogs are at risk of getting heartworms, and these pesky parasites can put the health of our pets in serious danger. Keep reading to learn everything you should know about the dangers of heartworm disease and how to prevent it.
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What Are Heartworms?

Heartworms are a type of parasite carried and spread by mosquitoes. Mosquitos pick up heartworm larvae when they bite infected animals. They then transfer the heartworm larvae to pets when they, in turn, bite a cat or dog.

Heartworm Disease in Dogs and Cats

When bitten by a mosquito carrying heartworm larvae, the larvae enter a pet’s bloodstream and travel to the heart and lungs where they grow, mature, and reproduce.
Heartworms can damage a pet’s heart and lungs, causing respiratory problems, cardiovascular problems, and even fatal heart failure. The symptoms and health problems caused by a heartworm infection are referred to as heartworm disease. Dogs are natural hosts for heartworms. This means that the parasites can grow to maturity in a dog, making heartworm disease much more severe in canines than it is in felines. Cats are not natural hosts for heartworms, and while a few might survive in a cat’s system, they rarely experience the same degree of infestations as dogs. However, heartworms can still wreak havoc on a cat’s health.
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Why It's Essential to Protect Your Pet From Heartworms

There is no treatment for heartworm disease in cats, and the treatment for heartworm disease in dogs is lengthy and not always successful. For this reason, preventing your pet from contracting heartworms is essential to protecting their health.
The best way to protect cats and dogs from heartworm disease is to provide them with preventative heartworm medication. These come in both oral tablets that are usually administered monthly and preventative injections that are administered every six or twelve months, depending on the type of injection administered. Additionally, we recommend taking steps to minimize mosquito populations around your home by cleaning up your yard and eliminating standing water where mosquitoes lay their eggs.

Schedule a Screening and Heartworm Prevention Appointment With Our Wisconsin Veterinarian

Administering a heartworm preventative to a pet that has already been infected with heartworm parasites can be fatal. For this reason, our veterinarians at Animal Wellness Center in Wisconsin always screen pets for heartworms with a simple blood test prior to administering a heartworm preventative. To learn more or schedule an appointment for your dog or cat, we welcome you to contact one of our Wisconsin veterinary clinics today.

Grain-Free Diets: Friend or Foe? What You Should Feed Your Pet

With all the choices and confusing marketing in the pet food aisle, choosing what to feed your pet can be an overwhelming task. Plus, pet food companies are experts in advertising, and they often spend lots of money promoting their latest, trendy formulations.

Grain-Free Diets: Friend or Foe? What You Should Feed Your Pet

With all the choices and confusing marketing in the pet food aisle, choosing what to feed your pet can be an overwhelming task. Plus, pet food companies are experts in advertising, and they often spend lots of money promoting their latest, trendy formulations – well before any research has been done to truly know whether or not these formulas are actually healthier for pets. Lately, foods that belong to a pet food category called BEG (boutique, exotic, or grain-free) diets have been all the rage in pet food, and it’s beginning to look like these fancy foods might not be the best dietary choice for your pets.
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What's Wrong With Grain-Free Pet Food?

As grain-free and boutique diets became increasingly popular over the last several years, veterinarians began noticing an uptick in the number of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) cases they were diagnosing in dogs. While some dog breeds are genetically predisposed to developing DCM, the cases were appearing in dogs with no genetic risk. This triggered the FDA to open up an investigation. Over the course of about five years, the FDA found that 90% of these dogs diagnosed with DCM were eating grain-free diets and 93% of them had diets that contained lentils or peas.

What Does This Mean for Your Dog?

The connection between grain-free diets and/or diets containing peas or lentils has not yet been proven. However, there is strong anecdotal evidence showing health improvement in dogs diagnosed with DCM after being taken off the BEG diets.
If your dog is currently eating a boutique, exotic, or grain-free diet that contains lentils or peas, you should let your veterinarian know and monitor their cardiovascular health closely. You can also talk with a veterinarian about switching your dog to a formulation that’s proven to be safe and healthy.
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Choose a Healthy Diet for Your Pet With Help From Animal Wellness Center

If you’re not sure what food, treats, and nutritional supplements are best for your pet, we strongly encourage you to schedule an appointment with a veterinarian at Animal Wellness Center in Wisconsin. Veterinarians receive lots of training in nutrition for pets and are always up to date on all the latest foods, formulations, and even prescription diets available.
We’ll evaluate your pet’s health, talk with you about goals for your pet’s diet, and help you select an appropriate food for your pet. Whether you’re hoping to manage your pet’s weight, stave off a chronic health condition, or simply raise a happy, healthy, and energetic pet, our veterinarians can help you do it with a balanced diet.

How to Pick the Right Vet for Your Pet

Whether you’re a pet owner who has moved to a new town, or you have recently adopted a new pet, one of the first things you need to do to make sure your pet stays happy and healthy is to find a good veterinarian and veterinary hospital.

How to Pick the Right Vet for Your Pet

Whether you’re a pet owner who has moved to a new town, or you have recently adopted a new pet, one of the first things you need to do to make sure your pet stays happy and healthy is to find a good veterinarian and veterinary hospital. Even in smaller towns, there can be several to choose from, so it’s important to decide which one is right for you and your pet.
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5 Tips to Find the Perfect Vet

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1. Get Recommendations
The best place to find a veterinarian you will like is to ask the people you like for their opinions. Tell your friends, family, or new neighbors what you’re looking for, and they just might have the perfect suggestion.
2. Consider Your Pet’s Needs
If you already know that your pet has certain health needs, like heart concerns or another systemic issue, then you should look for a veterinary clinic that can meet those needs — whether they’ll benefit from internal medicine, physical therapy, or another type of veterinary specialist.
3. Ask About Services and Prices
When you find a veterinary clinic you like, in addition to meeting your pet’s individual needs, find out what their list of services includes. Look for wellness and preventative care, emergency services, boarding, grooming, and sick pet appointments. Also, don’t be afraid to shop prices to make sure you choose a veterinary hospital that’s in your budget.
4. Check Accreditations
To ensure your veterinary clinic of choice is reputable and provides a high standard of care, check the animal hospital’s credentials for veterinary association members and look into your veterinarian’s experience.
5. Find One You Like
It’s important that you like your veterinary office and veterinarian. Your pet will pick up on your emotional cues at the office and follow suit. Make sure you choose a veterinary clinic with treatment and care philosophies that you agree with and a good bedside manner.
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Schedule a New Pet Appointment at Our Wisconsin Vet

If you have a new pet or are new to the area, we welcome you to schedule an appointment at Animal Wellness Center. We offer comprehensive care including routine wellness and preventative pet care and specialty veterinary services. We have five locations serving Oak Creek, Waukesha, Fond du Lac, Burlington, Watertown, and the surrounding areas. To learn more or to schedule an appointment for your pet, we welcome you to contact us today.

The Benefits of Walking Your Dog (Even When It’s Cold Outside)

Although the cold weather might not be ideal for walking your dog, it’s still extremely important that you head out regularly for walks.

The Benefits of Walking Your Dog (Even When It’s Cold Outside)

It’s winter in Wisconsin, which means less daylight and cold, snowy weather. Although the conditions for walking your dog might not be ideal, it’s still extremely important that you head out regularly for walks. (Pro Tip: If it’s cold, take shorter, more frequent constitutionals.)
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6 Benefits of Walking Your Dog

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1. Weight Control and Good Health
Walking equals exercise, which not only helps prevent obesity, it also helps pets avoid secondary health problems like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, staying active promotes good joint health and digestive health.
2. Mental Stimulation
To stay happy and avoid unwanted behaviors, dogs need to stay mentally active as well as physically active. Out in the world, dogs have plenty of opportunities to exercise their minds while they encounter new sights, sounds, smells, and sometimes even tastes. (Just try to keep your dog away from an abandoned cheeseburger).
3. Bonding
While you can let your dog out in the fenced yard for a little exercise, walking is a good activity to do together. It keeps both of you healthy and helps you bond with your furry friend.
4. Socialization
Going for walks also provides great opportunities for properly socializing your dog. When they encounter strange people and pets, you’ll be able to help them learn the proper way to behave around strangers, and they’ll eventually get used to crossing paths with them.
5. Training
Going for walks involves training your dog to walk on a leash, to leave the previously mentioned discarded cheeseburger, and to behave well around strangers. Not only is this good for strengthening your bond, but it also promotes more mental activity. Additionally, you’ll find lots of opportunities to reinforce your pup’s good behavior with reward-sized treats.
6. Better Sleep
A dog getting enough exercise will sleep soundly at night, which means you’ll sleep better, too!

Schedule a Healthy Weight Consultation for Your Pet

If you’re not sure whether your pet might be overweight and facing weight-related health problems, we encourage you to schedule an appointment at one of Animal Wellness Center’s five Wisconsin locations. Our veterinarians will assess your pet, help you determine a healthy weight range based on species, breed, and age, and set your pet up on a weight management plan.

How to Make the Holidays Happy for Pets

Everyone loves the holiday season, but pets sometimes get overlooked in the midst of all the hustle, bustle, shopping, and celebrating.

How to Make the Holidays Happy for Pets

Everyone loves the holiday season, but pets sometimes get overlooked in the midst of all the hustle, bustle, shopping, and celebrating. During the winter months and holiday festivities, it’s important to pay close attention to your pets to make sure they stay healthy, happy, and away from seasonal dangers.

5 Tips to Keep Your Pets Safe and Happy This Season

1. Cold Weather Safety

Baby, it’s cold outside – even for your furry friends! If pets are outdoors, make sure they have a warm shelter with dry bedding to retreat to and be sure to change their water frequently to prevent it from freezing over.
If pets only go out with you for walks, keep an eye on their paws. The cold can chap their delicate paw pads and you might need to get a set of booties for your dog or apply a paw ointment upon returning indoors. It’s also good to wash your pet’s paws after walks outside, as they can pick up toxic antifreeze and ice melt and then ingest it when they lick it away later.

2. Travel Plans

Keep your pet in mind when you make travel plans. Will your pet travel with you? If so, what will you need to pack and how much extra time will it take you to arrive at your destination? Will you leave your pet behind? If so, will you hire a pet sitter or check your dog into a boarding facility. Either way, make sure your dog has the proper vaccinations, supplies, and health certificates ahead of time.

3. Food Dangers

Tempting treats fill the holiday season. Unfortunately, most of these are harmful to pets. Keep them out of the kitchen, away from the table, and make sure they don’t ingest any toxic substances (onions, garlic, raisins, nuts, chocolate, xylitol, and more).

4. Celebration Dangers

Twinkling lights, poinsettias, holly, tinsel, wrapping paper, strings, bows, and other trappings of the season are all dangerous for pets. Keep them away from your decorations or put up a gate around the tree to prevent them from accidentally chewing or ingesting something they shouldn’t.

5. Exercise and Attention

You’re busier than ever, but your pet still needs attention and exercise. Do your best to continue your regular routine through the hectic season.

Make an Emergency Plan for Your Pet

No matter the season and festivities, it’s always smart to have an emergency plan in place for your pet. We recommend keeping the number for the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Hotline on-hand and the number for Animal Wellness Center’s nearest location. To learn more about the holiday precautions you can take to keep your pets safe, we welcome you to schedule a checkup today.

Foods to Keep Your Pet Away From This Thanksgiving

Pets are family, and we want to include them in special family events like Thanksgiving Day. However, with plenty of tempting treats on display, our holiday celebrations aren’t always the safest environments for pets.

Foods to Keep Your Pet Away From This Thanksgiving

Pets are family, and we want to include them in special family events like Thanksgiving Day. However, with plenty of tempting treats on display, our holiday celebrations aren’t always the safest environments for pets.

7 Thanksgiving Favorites to Keep Away From Your Pets

1. Nuts

Nuts contain too much fat for pets and can cause problems like indigestion and pancreatitis. Macadamia nuts and walnuts are highly toxic to dogs and cats. Eating them can be fatal. Keep pets away from nuts and dishes that contain them.
2. Grapes and Raisins
Popular in fruit salads and stuffing, grapes and raisins are dangerous for dogs and cats. Keep pets away from these chase-able round fruits and dishes that contain them.
3. Onions and the Rest of Their Family
The entire onion (allium) family – red, white, yellow, and green onions, shallots, scallions, leeks, chives, and garlic – is extremely toxic to dogs and cats. These ingredients (including dried and powdered versions) are found in our favorite recipes for mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and green bean casserole.
4. Dessert
Desserts often contain nuts and other potentially poisonous ingredients. For example, chocolate and xylitol (a sweetener commonly found in sugar-free desserts) are toxic to pets. Plus, plain-old sugar isn’t good for dogs or cats, either. It can cause an upset stomach. So, keep your pets away from the dessert tray.
5. Poultry
While a bite of turkey might seem harmless for a cat or dog, be careful to keep them from eating turkey skin or bones. They can choke on bones or suffer a perforated intestine if they manage to swallow one. Plus, the high-fat content in a basted turkey can lead to pancreatitis or an upset stomach. 
6. Ham
Ham is another human classic that’s not a great choice for treating pets. It’s high in fat which can upset your pet’s stomach and contribute to obesity. Even a small bite contains a huge amount of calories for a small dog or cat.
7. Alcohol
Alcohol is toxic to cats and dogs. Be sure to keep all adult beverages covered or well out of your pets’ reach.

What to Do If Your Pet Ingests a Toxic Food on Thanksgiving Day?

It’s safest to keep your pet in a quiet spot in your home during all the excitement of holiday festivities, but if your pet accidentally gets his paws on a toxic food this holiday season, be ready to take action. Contact the Animal Poison Control hotline for instructions and have the number for an emergency veterinarian on-hand at all times.
For more information about keeping pets safe on Thanksgiving Day, schedule an appointment with an Animal Wellness Center veterinarian near you.