Tips to keep your pets safe from merry, bright Christmas décor

This is such a magical time of year filled with joy and excitement. Everywhere we look we see the festivities of the season with beautiful sights and sounds.

We reminisce with sweet memories about holidays past and we look forward with great anticipation to the sacred Christmas to come. We want to create wonderful memories this holiday season with our family and friends.

Not only do people enjoy this season but pets do as well. We love to see the boxes of decorations coming down from the attic and we can’t wait for the tree to be brought inside.

I don’t want to tell you all our ideas, but we have our own thoughts about what we’d like to do with those decorations. Sometimes we just wait patiently and observe as our family members carefully place each item strategically around the house. We enjoy just being an unobtrusive, well-behaved admirer.

We know at some point, after everyone has put their stamp of approval on the beautiful décor, we’ll probably be left alone with those decorations. Yes, at some point our parents will go to work or shopping.

Then it’s just the decorations and us. And sometimes, honestly, they call our names begging for us to put our own personal touch on the entire scenery.

And that’s where the trouble, and possibly danger, lies in wait. There are so many potential hazards to pets during the holiday season that are totally preventable. So to make sure we don’t have any mishaps that land us at an unexpected visit with the vet, I want to share a few tips with you.

For today, let’s talk about the tree and plants. If you choose a fresh tree please take time to make sure it is safely balanced and secured so it remains upright.

There has been more than one family who returned home to find a fully decorated tree lying on its side with kitties playing in the branches. The rumor was kittens were climbing the trees right before they both toppled over but since there were no witnesses, I’m not sure if it’s true.

Also, if you have a live tree, make sure pets cannot access the reservoir where the water is. Folks typically put some sort of fertilizer in the water that can be dangerous to curious pets who might drink it. So please put some sort of cover over the liquid so no adventurous thirsty furry baby gets into trouble.

Plants and greenery also pose potential threats as well. The beautiful holiday poinsettias and lovely holly are poisonous to pets.

If that’s not enough, the most popular greenery of the Christmas season, mistletoe, is definitely a danger to pets. Even the red berries that are just so appealing to us are toxic.

But here’s a news flash, we’re always eager to give you kisses and we don’t even need mistletoe! Just get anywhere close to us and we’ll show you totally without the dangers of real mistletoe.

So as we launch into this wonderful season, please take a few precautions to make sure the fur family members in your home stay safe well into the New Year. A few steps now will ensure your memories of this Christmas season are merry and bright.

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Tips to keep your pets safe from merry, bright Christmas décor."