CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Serving up a plate on Thanksgiving Day. You’ll more than likely eat turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and stuffing. All the tasty favorites you’re tempted to share with your dog or cat.
It’s during this time, emergency and critical veterinarians tend to see an uptick in vet visits, due to human food poisoning.
The American Vertinary Medical Association said fatty foods are hard for animals to digest. Poultry bones can damage your pet’s digestive tract and holiday sweets can contain ingredients that are poisonous to pets.
One dog owner tells us around the holidays his dog will eat table scraps while the family cooks.
“He’s an old man, hard of hearing and stubborn just like me,” said Hector Zamora.
Zamora has had Bam Bam for 17 years. So, when the holidays come around, this little York mix has a seat at the table.
"He hangs around the table; he hangs around the kitchen waiting to see what drops and he hangs around the table while we're eating so he gets food tossed to him. He enjoys it,” Zamora said.
Zamora said he’s careful not* to overfeed Bam Bam human food.
“They say table scraps and human food is not good for them because they need their own special diet but I’m not really sure why,” Zamora explained.
William Howard is fully aware of what can happen if his 11-month-old coker spaniel, Kali, eats something unhealthy or worse toxic.
“I don’t want to deal with her stomach afterwards. She has a very sensitive stomach and I’m not really sure what I can give her or what I can't give her so I’d rather not give her anything at all,” Howard said.
Howard plans to avoid an emergency vet visit this Thanksgiving, which means a full plate for him and a bowl of dog food for kali.
Some of the foods you should avoid giving your pet includes turkey skin and bones, ham, mashed potatoes and chocolate. Just to name a few.
If you would like a full list of unsafe foods and those you can share with your furry friend, click here.
