Keeping pets safe and healthy during the holidays

BY KASHA STOLL

There will be little to no Black Friday Christmas shopping for Dr. Tirzah Pop and the staff at the Waters Edge Animal Hospital and Urgent Care in Duluth.

“The day after Thanksgiving, we are usually booked solid with vomiting and diarrhea,” Pop said. “People feed their dogs turkey or the skin of turkey. They think, ‘I’ll be kind and nice to my dogs and let them enjoy Thanksgiving,’ but they should really stick to their regular diet.”

Pop also stays busy during Christmas, when the natural tendencies of dogs and cats tend to clash with holiday festivities.

Pop and Dr. Matt Severs, a veterinarian at Superior Animal Hospital and Boarding Suites in Superior, shared a list of holiday dangers for pets and some suggestions for pet owners.