Two warnings for pet owners this Valentine's Day!

Wow! He must be one of those unusual types, like people who don't get a certain illness when everyone around them is getting sick. You are SO lucky!!! I had a goofy dog once who would eat anything she could. She got into a box of chocolate-covered vanilla butter creams (I ADORE them!!!) and ate about 8 of them. Luckily, by the time I found out that she had gotten into that box, her own body disposed of the chocolate... VERY FAST!!! YUCK! I had such a mess to clean up but I'm so thankful that I didn't have to take her to the vets... or worse. Dogs shouldn't have grapes or raisins, either, did you know that? I just learned about that a few months ago. Luckily, I've never had a dog who liked them, anyway. My two girls ADORE bananas. I can't eat a banana without both of them within a few feet of me. Luckily, bananas aren't poisonous to dogs.

Ah, the things our furry friends ingest! I once took a stray to the emergency vets because the poor little fella (looked like Benji) was hit by some creep who just kept on going. When I got to the vets, they asked, "Is that the dog who ate the onion?" Yeah, onions can be deadly to them. Isn't it funny... things that are actually GOOD for us can kill our canine friends? My dogs LOVE bananas. They become little maniacs if they see me eating one! I'm glad that bananas aren't bad for them! LOL

Oops, sorry. I forgot I already mentioned the bananas to you. (My brain is so bad these days!!!) Isn't it great to have our little "Hoovers" around? They clean up all the crumbs and stuff that fall on the floor.

Isn't it funny how we sometimes care more for our pets (and other people) than we do ourselves? Actually, now that I think about it, it's not that strange. After all, they ARE our children and any good mother would put their children above themselves, right? (At least until they turn into those evil creatures... a.k.a. 'teenagers'.) It's also ironic that you used that phrase "a twinkle in my father's eye" because I haven't heard it in eons, but said it myself just a couple of days ago! Great minds, huh?

I think we're more aware of these things for two reasons. First, veterinary research, just as our own medical research, has come a long way. More is learned all the time. Second, the internet brings it all right to us! All we have to do is look for it. I didn't know about grapes until a few months ago. I'm glad I learned about it, too! I love grapes and almost always have some in the summer months. I dropped a grape on the floor last fall and, thankfully, I had learned about grapes and dogs because my two cuties zoomed right in on it. I was lucky enough to grab it before they did!

I know exactly what you mean! My two little girls (Maltese) are, well, they're like my children! One of mine starts shivering the second she hears thunder and it just breaks my heart to see her so frightened! I took her to the vet's once because of it and he gave me a medication (Xanax) to take during thunderstorms to help calm her down. Poor little thing! How much to chihuahuas weigh, generally? I've been curious. My girls weigh in at 5 pounds and 7 pounds, although the littlest one has a brother who weighs a whopping 10 pounds, very unusual for a Maltese.

my chi is overweight a little my vet said. i should stop feeding her people food but its hard to not give her bites of my meat when im eating. shes part papillon which is a little bigger dog tho i think. she weighs 19lbs.

Yes it can....but remember that only in large amounts. Dont panic if your dog takes some chocolate from your cupboard :)

Wow, thanks, I knew about chocolate and stuff but I didn't know that all this powder and chemicals could harm dogs

HI CATS!!!! I kinda figured that was what was going on. I've been really down myself lately, but am doing my best not to give in to it. (I might, though... hubby just got a check for some work he did. It was supposed to be around $6,000.00 but it was only $2,200.00. He said he's not calling the guy until Monday about it. WHA????? I'd be on that phone so fast! He hates confrontation and avoids it like the plague. He lets people walk all over him and there's nothing I can do about it. He won't let me help. It's getting very depressing. We're living hand-to-mouth because he won't stand up for his rights! He also hasn't had work in over a week and doesn't expect any until some time next month. Also, he won't look for another job! He's convinced he's going to get rich working for himself. I don't know what to do at this point!) Anyway, I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better! I'm also extremely happy to see you here again!!! We all, okay, most of us, go through ups and downs all the time. It always seems like those 'downs' are so much worse and LONGER than those 'ups', doesn't it? I think we have a buyer for the ATV, so don't worry about it. My husband actually quoted this guy $2,600.00 when I was asking $2,500.00 for it! (At least that's ONE good thing he's done recently!) I just hope he buys it. We could sure use the money. We were just selling it mainly to get it out of the garage and because it's never used, but now... well, that's one month's worth of bill payments! My husband's truck is sitting in the driveway because he can't afford to get the tags renewed, so he's using my SUV. I paid off my SUV when I had the money. I wish he had been as smart! Geez, now I'M getting depressed! Well, okay, MORE depressed. I'd better stop talking about this stuff... right now! LOL Anyway, GLAD to see you back! Stick around awhile, okay? If there's anything I can do, let me know.

That's true! I learned that they can't eat grapes or raisins not too long ago. I had no idea!!! I love grapes and buy them all the time. (I've even planted grape vines but am still waiting for them to get big enough to produce grapes.) I'm going to have to keep my fuzzy little companions away from those grapes!

No, chocolate is not good for cats, either. I didn't know that until I just looked it up. I found a site that lists all toxins to cats. It lists all plants and foods that cats should not ever ingest. http://www.cat-world.com.au/cat-worldtoxic.htm But, cats are usually pretty finicky eaters anyway so there's very little chance that a cat will eat chocolate. Still, it's always better to play it safe and keep these known toxins away from both cats and dogs.