It’s that wonderful time of year filled with joy, happiness and gathering with our friends and family.

Everyone at Goldwood Kennels is grateful for being busy this time of year with our boarding, grooming and pet travel guests. We also love to see holiday shoppers stopping in to our pet boutique to find the perfect toy, treat or gift card for their pet.

At home, this time of year can be stressful and hectic as we race to decorate the house, shop for the perfect gifts and prepare delicious meals. These decorations and extra goodies around the house can be irresistible for your pet. Here are a few safety tips to help keep your pet safe and happy during the festivities.

Christmas Trees

Firmly secure the tree in its stand and consider wire or twine ties attached to the wall to help secure the tree. This will help to keep the tree from falling over if your pet decides to use it as a playground.

Dogs and cats will often try to drink water from the reservoir in the stand. The sap from the tree may irritate your pet’s stomach and preservatives added to the water may be toxic. Use a cover to fit around the base of the tree – even a towel wrapped around the trunk over the stand will do.

Ornamentation is very attractive, especially to kittens and cats, but may be deadly. Tinsel, ribbon and glitter can cause intestinal blockages. Place these items high enough so they are out of reach. Also be careful about the packages placed under the tree. You may want to wait to place packages with ribbon under the tree until you are ready to open them.

Those Wonderful Goodies

Holidays are a time for lots of baking and receiving of baked gifts (we are so fortunate for the baked goodies from our wonderful customers!). These items not only look and smell wonderful to us, but also to our pets. Your pet may help him/herself to candy, cookies or part of the holiday meal if you aren’t looking. These items may lead to indigestion, diarrhea or worse. Items containing chocolate can poison a dog.

Food and snacks left on counter tops, tables and even in the garbage will entice your pet(s). If there is a way to get at it, be assured your pet will certainly try. Try to place these items out of reach. Using a covered garbage receptacle and taking out the trash frequently will help with potential “dumpster diving”.

Other Decorations

Plants are often used for decoration at this time of year. Some of these plants contain toxins that can irritate your pet’s gastrointestinal tract if chewed on or eaten. Eating enough of some plants may poison your dog or cat. If you are shopping at your local home improvement store and see a plant that would look great in your living room, ask an employee if the plant is safe for pets. If the employee doesn’t know, then call your veterinarian or do a quick online search to find out.

Taking a few minutes to set some family guidelines and spot potential safety hazards could keep this holiday season a healthy and happy one for your furry family members. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and look forward to seeing you soon.

We are fortunate to meet and work with some truly amazing pets and pet owners. This story is one example of a family’s love and dedication to their 4 year old Boxer Cid.

In early February of this year we received an email from a pet owner who was interested in flying his dog, Cid, from London to Minneapolis. In our follow up, we quickly realized this would be unlike any pet travel move we had ever done. We learned the reason Cid was traveling to Minneapolis was to have a brain tumor removed. Cid’s owners had done some research and discovered Dr. Elizabeth Pluhar and her team at the University of Minnesota College Of Veterinary Medicine. The owners had a plan to fly with Cid to Minneapolis, have Cid’s tumor surgically removed by Dr. Pluhar, and if all went well, Cid would be flying back to London one week later.

We worked closely with Cid’s owners and fellow IPATA agent PetAir UK in London to make sure we had everything in place for Cid’s arrival in Minneapolis on Monday, February 20th. Right away we could see what a sweet and special dog he was. The Delta Airlines import office staff members in Minneapolis were wonderful. Due to Cid’s medications, he needed to eat immediately upon arrival; we were asked to pick up two cooked steaks (thank you Gordy’s Steakhouse in Willernie, Minnesota). We then took a walk to stretch his legs after the long flight. Cid’s owners met us at Delta Airlines cargo office and off they went to their hotel, Cid needed his rest for his surgery the next day.

The next afternoon we were thrilled to hear that Cid’s surgery was a success! The tumor had been removed and he began his recovery. His follow up appointments with Dr. Pluhar continued throughout the week and Cid was getting better each day; he would be ready for his trip home as scheduled.

On Monday, February 27th we met with Cid’s owners & Dr. Pluhar for his final exam and health travel paperwork and he passed with flying colors. A quick stop at the USDA office in Saint Paul for endorsement and we were all set for his flight the next day.

When we returned to our office, we called Delta Airlines to make a final confirmation for Cid’s booking and found out there was live animal travel embargo the next day due to severe weather (a good old Minnesota blizzard). This created a number of problems for both Cid and his owners as they were all traveling on the same flight. After a few phone calls and some great work by the staff at Delta Airlines we were able to get Cid out on a flight that night, ahead of the storm. We met Cid and his owners at the airport an hour later and got Cid checked in for his flight, keep in mind that Cid’s owners had to pack all of their things at the hotel, change their own plane ticket and drive to the airport all in about an hour. The staff at Delta was wonderful and gave Cid the VIP treatment! We were thrilled to receive word the next day that Cid was back at home in London, recovering and doing well.

As we reflect on Cid’s journey, a few things come to mind. We feel very fortunate to have met Cid and his family. They were wonderful to work with and very accommodating throughout the process. Cid is a special dog and we wish him all the best in his recovery. Everyone involved did an exceptional job including PetAir UK in England, Delta Airlines at MSP (both import & export) and of course Gordy’s Steakhouse provided the best steaks in town. Learning about the work that Dr. Pluhar & her team are doing at the U of M has been simply amazing. We certainly LOVE what we do!

Notes:

Learn more about the work Dr. Pluhar and her team are doing here: www.braintumorlab.com

To enjoy one of the best steaks in town, visit Gordy’s Steakhouse: www.gordys-steakhouse.com