Safety

Nationwide each year, at least 500,000 pets are affected by house fires, with 40,000 of them dying—often from smoke inhalation.

In observance of National Pet Fire Safety Day on July 15, we offer our best advice for keeping pets safe from fires.

Keep Your Pet From Starting a Fire

Family pets (and other animals like squirrels and mice that chew through electrical wires) start an estimated 790 house fires, on average, every year. 

Given that there are more than 130 million pets living in homes nationwide, the likelihood that your pet will start a fire at your house is low. 

Still, it’s sensible to take precautions. To reduce the risks of your pet’s starting a fire—

Keep your pet away from open flames. 

Pets can be seriously injured when they get too close to a fireplace or candle and their fur catches fire. They can also start fires when they knock candles off shelves or tables and ignite flammable papers, fabrics and furnishings.

Use hurricane glass holders for candles or, better yet, enjoy the safe, warm glow of battery-powered candles. 

Cover your fireplace with a sturdy wire mesh screen or enclose it behind glass doors.

Even with the flames behind barriers, never leave your pet unattended in a room with candles or a fireplace burning.

Beware of stove control knobs and burners. 

Both dogs and cats have been known to turn on gas and electric burners, often when home alone. 

If your pet can reach the stovetop and its control panel, remove the knobs and engage child safety locks if your stove has them.

As an added precaution, keep flammable fabrics, cookbooks and food packaging materials well away from stove tops.

Don’t leave food cooking unattended on the stove if there’s a chance your pet could pull the pot or pan off the stovetop. 

Cover loose power cords.

Besides receiving potentially deadly electrical shocks, pets can start house fires by chewing through the insulation on power cords.

To protect your pet and your household from chewed power cords, use cord covers, available online and at hardware stores.

Watch out for portable space heaters.

Keep your pet and your pet’s bedding clear of contact with portable space heaters. 

Make sure your heater is relatively cool to the touch and new enough to have an automatic shut-off feature if knocked over.

Never leave your pet unattended in a room with a portable space heater. 

Protect Your Pet in Case of a Fire

Nearly half of all house fires are caused by cooking mishaps. Heating-related hazards are the second-most frequent cause, followed by faulty electrical systems and lighting equipment. 

To protect your pet from a house fire, regardless of the cause—

Install monitored smoke detectors.

Strategically-placed smoke detectors, monitored by a security service, can protect your property and family—including your pet—around-the-clock, whether or not you are at home when the fire starts. 

Make your pet easily accessible to rescuers.

When you leave pets alone in the house, confine them to an area near an exterior door, with a collar and leash or carrier handy. This will make it easier for fire fighters to find them and get them safely out of your burning house.

You may also put a decal in your front window or door indicating the current number and types of pets inside. 

Include your pet in family emergency preparations.

In our post, “Preparing Your Pets for Disaster,” we offer detailed advice to help you prepare for all sorts of emergencies—including house fires. 

With your emergency evacuation plans made, we suggest you and your family practice implementing them, deciding in advance who’ll be in charge of retrieving any pets and actually rehearsing getting them out of the house.

Know your pet’s preferred napping and hiding places and practice accessing and getting them on lead or into a carrier from there.

Don’t risk your own life to rescue your pet.

In the event of a fire, if rescuing pets is too dangerous, get safely out of the house yourself, leave the door open and call from a safe distance to your pets to follow you outside. 

Do not return to a burning house to try to find and rescue a pet. As soon as they arrive, let fire fighters know there’s a pet still inside and leave it to them to handle the rescue. 

Watch your pet for signs of smoke inhalation. 

If, after escaping a house fire, your pet acts lethargic or seems to have trouble breathing—an increased breathing rate, coughing, wheezing, open-mouth or noisy breathing—notify fire fighters on the scene immediately. They have equipment on hand to administer oxygen to pets of all sizes. 

Check, too, for red, watery eyes, runny nose, and signs of neurological problems, such as agitation, uncoordinated gait, seizures, weakness, disorientation, stumbling, and any other abnormal behavior.

If your pet shows any of these symptoms, seek care from a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Help Your Pet Get Back Home

If your panicked pet runs away and gets lost in the chaos of a house fire, take precautions now to improve your chances of recovering the pet. 

Make sure your lost pet can be identified.

Keep a collar or harness with an identification tag on your pet at all times. 

Have us insert a microchip under your pet’s skin to provide a more permanent means of identification that will greatly increase the chances of having your lost pet returned to you. 

Nearly all animal shelters and veterinary practices have scanners that can read the chips and direct staff members to the appropriate chip registry to identify the pet’s owner.

Keep in mind, your pet’s microchip will work only if you register it and make sure to keep your contact information current. 

For details on pet identification, see our post, “Could We See Some ID?“

For much more advice on recovering a lost pet, see our blog post “How to Get a Lost Pet Back Home.”

Typically, Brownsburg’s hottest weather is not until July, but National Heat Awareness Day on May 31 serves as an early reminder of the dangers of heat-induced health threats and suggests precautions to minimize them. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Weather Service originally designated the last Friday in May as National Heat Awareness Day to draw attention to the risks of heat exhaustion, dehydration, heatstroke and even death faced by outdoor laborers when temperatures climb.

As veterinarians, we observe National Heat Awareness Day by drawing attention to the dangers to pets posed by high temperatures and offering our advice on keeping pets safe in hot weather.

The #1 Hot-Weather No-No

No matter how much your dog loves going for a ride and how much you enjoy his or her company while you’re running errands, leaving a dog alone in a parked car—even if you park in the shade—even with all the windows open and the air conditioner running—even if you’re going to be gone for only a minute—even if it’s not that hot—is always a dangerously bad idea. Don’t do it. 

Even if the outdoor temperature is only 70 degrees, the inside of your car may be as much as 20 degrees hotter. When the temperature is 85 degrees outside, it takes only 10 minutes for the temperature to rise to 102 degrees inside a car with all the windows opened slightly. After a half-hour, the temperature will reach 120 degrees, and a pet left in those conditions may well suffer irreversible organ damage or die.  

Don’t risk endangering your pet’s life by leaving him or her in a parked car. Leave your pet comfortably, safely at home.

Comforts of Home

If your pet is outside in hot weather, make sure you provide plenty of open shade and fresh water, adding ice to the water on the hottest days.

Indoors, provide access to water and ideally, air-conditioned spaces.

Skip the Shave

While trimming longer hair on your dog is fine in hot weather, never shave your dog down to the bare skin. The coat’s layers protect dogs from overheating and sunburn.

Easy on the Exercise

Even pets conditioned to fairly rigorous exercise routines in more temperate weather need shorter duration and lowered intensity of activities on hot days. Schedule exercise with your pet in the cooler early morning or evening hours. Carry water with you to prevent dehydration.

Avoid Hot Pavement

Hot asphalt can expose your pet’s body to extreme heat rising off the surface. Contact with hot pavement can burn paws. Check the pavement temperature with the back of your hand before leading your pet onto hot pavement and walk on the grass as much as possible. 

Heatstroke

Dogs exposed to high temperatures can suffer heatstroke. The signs include—

• Heavy panting
• Glazed eyes
• Rapid heartbeat
• Difficulty breathing
• Excessive thirst
• Lethargy
• Fever
• Dizziness
• Lack of coordination
• Profuse salivation
• Vomiting
• Brick red gum color
• A deep red or purple tongue
• Seizure
• Unconsciousness

Animals most susceptible to heatstroke are the very young and the very old, overweight and out-of-shape pets, and those suffering from heart or respiratory disease. Dogs with flat faces, like bulldogs, pugs and shih tzus, and flat-faced cats, like Persians and exotic shorthairs, have a much harder time breathing in extreme heat and are much more prone to heatstroke. Keep them in air-conditioned spaces.

If your pet is showing signs of heatstroke, move him or her to the shade or into an air-conditioned space. Apply ice packs or cold towels to their head, neck and chest and run cool water over them from a water hose. Offer small amounts of cool water to drink and ice cubes to lick. Get them to a veterinarian immediately, as heatstroke can lead to severe organ dysfunction and damage.

Heed the Humidity, Too

Animals pant to cool themselves by evaporating moisture from their lungs, but high humidity interferes with cooling and body temperature rises. 

When the humidity is high, pay close attention to your pet and be prepared to take the same emergency measures you would in the event of a heatstroke.

May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month, so we’re offering some basics about the disease—particularly as it impacts Hendricks County. This post also includes symptoms of Lyme disease in people and pets, prevention advice and links to authoritative sources of more detailed information. 

About Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a potentially severe infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted to people and pets through bites from an infected blacklegged deer tick. It’s named for Lyme, Connecticut, the town where the disease was first identified in 1975.

According to the Indiana Department of Health, “Lyme disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne disease in Indiana and in the United States.”

While you can’t catch Lyme disease directly from an infected pet, both you and your pet can catch it if you’re bitten by infected blacklegged deer ticks found in the environment you share—on walks you take together in grassy or wooded areas, for example—or from infected ticks brought home and transferred to you from the pet.

Dogs infected with Lyme disease are considered an indicator of the likely exposure of humans to the disease. As a rule, the more dogs testing positive for Lyme disease in a given county, the higher the frequency of Lyme disease in humans living in that county.

Lyme Disease Symptoms

In humans, the early symptoms of Lyme disease infection are an expanding red skin rash, facial nerve and muscle weakness or paralysis, severe headaches and neck stiffness, lightheadedness, flu-like symptoms, fainting, shortness of breath, heart palpitations or chest pains, and pain and swelling in large joints. 

As the disease progresses in humans, additional symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, twitching, cognitive impairment, heart problems, neuropathy, headache, muscle aches, memory loss, sleep impairment, gastrointestinal problems, and depression or mood changes.

In dogs, the symptoms of infection—shown by only 5 to 10% of infected dogs—are lameness, fever, joint swelling, lethargy, swollen lymph nodes and loss of appetite. Left untreated, potentially deadly kidney, nervous system and heart problems may develop. 

Fortunately, if caught early, most dogs can be successfully treated for Lyme disease with antibiotics. A vaccine is also available.

Lyme Disease in Indiana

The incidence of Lyme disease among humans in Indiana has generally trended upward over the past decade, from 75 reported cases in 2012 to 314 cases in 2021—a rate of 4.6 cases per 100,000 population. In 2022, 236 cases of Lyme disease were reported in Indiana, for an incidence rate of 3.5 cases per 100,000 population.

Statewide, Lyme disease is most common in May, June and July, when ticks are most active, but cases have been documented year-round.

Cases of the disease are most prevalent in the northwestern part of the state. The number of reported cases among residents of Hendricks County, while not zero, is relatively low. Only two cases were reported in our county in 2022.

The Indiana State Department of Health collected ticks statewide between 2017 and 2023 and had them tested at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Of the 45 adult ticks collected in Hendricks County, none tested positive. However, 20 to 39.9% of ticks collected in Boone, Putnam, Morgan and Marion counties tested positive and 40% or more of the 66 adult ticks collected in Montgomery County tested positive for the Lyme disease-causing bacterium. 

Preventing Lyme Disease

Tick control—primarily by keeping your pet on year-round flea and tick preventive—is the most effective way to prevent Lyme disease infections in pets and people. 

Other measures we recommend:

• Avoid areas likely to be infested by ticks when they are most active. In Indiana, that’s late April through May, June and July.
• Ask us which tick repellants are safe to use on your dog.
• Check yourself and your pet thoroughly for ticks immediately after outings to grassy or wooded areas, and remove any you find right away. 

We suggest you review “How to Remove a Tick From Your Dog” on the American Kennel Club website before removing ticks. 

Ask Us About the Lyme Disease Vaccine

Vaccinated animals are less likely to contract Lyme disease than unvaccinated ones, but it is still possible for a vaccinated animal to be infected. 

We recommend the vaccine only for healthy dogs most likely to be exposed to ticks. 

After asking you about your pet’s environment and activities and evaluating your pet’s overall health, our veterinarians will help you decide if your pet’s potential exposure to deer ticks warrants a vaccine. 

The typical vaccine protocol is an initial injection followed by a booster 2 to 4 weeks later. After that, we recommend annual Lyme disease vaccine boosters. 

More Lyme Disease Resources

For comprehensive general information about Lyme disease, visit lymedisease.org. This site is primarily focused on the impact of Lyme disease on humans, but it dedicates a page, “Pets and Lyme disease,” to information of particular interest to pet owners. 

On PetMD’s website, see “Lyme Disease in Dogs: Symptoms and Treatment.” The page presents a brief video overview, followed by a more detailed article. 

The American Veterinary Medical Association’s “Lyme disease: A pet owner’s guide” offers advice for people as well as pets who may be infected.

For more information about the risk of Lyme disease in cats, see “Lyme Disease: A Potential, But Unlikely, Problem for Cats,” published by Cornell’s Feline Health Center. 

April is National Pet First Aid Awareness Month. In observance, we’re sharing our suggestions for steps you can take to prepare for, respond to and, best of all, avoid a medical emergency. 

We’ve put together a collection of links you can use as a self-study course on pet first-aid basics. If you read—even just skim—the resources we recommend, you’ll know some preventive measures to take as well as what to do—and what not to do—in common emergency situations. 

First Steps to First Aid Preparedness

Our first recommendation is for all in your household with mobile phones to add Brownsburg Animal Clinic, the Pet Poison Helpline and your choice of area emergency clinics to your stored contacts lists. You can find the contact information you need in the right sidebar on every page of our website, ready for you to transfer to your phones.

Next, we suggest you put together a first aid kit for your pet(s). We like the ASPCA’s recommended list of kit contents.

The Red Cross offers a more comprehensive list as a downloadable PDF, ready to print and use as a shopping list.

We suggest you keep the first aid supplies you assemble in a portable container you can take with you when traveling with your pet. 

If you prefer, you can shop online for a pre-assembled pet first aid kit. 

Preventive Strategies

The best first aid preparation of all is to take steps immediately to avoid needing to administer it! You can take precautions now to prevent illnesses and accidents by making your pet’s environment safe and cultivating good safety habits to keep your pet out of danger.

For ideas on how to protect your pet’s health and safety, we recommend reading and heeding these articles:

• “10 Safety Tips for Dog Owners” from the Spruce Pets
• “Cat Safety” from Best Friends Animal Society
• “7 Safety Tips For The Home When You Have A Cat” from Cattime.com

See our recent blog post, “Keeping Your Pet Safe from Poisons” to find out which foods, plants, household products and drugs are potentially toxic to pets and make sure they’re all out of your pet’s reach. 

Pet First Aid 101

Ideally, as a loving and responsible pet owner, you’re willing to learn the basics of pet first aid so, in case of an emergency, you will have some idea of how best to respond.

To help you get started learning about pet first aid, we recommend reading “First aid tips for pet owners” from the American Veterinary Medical Association website. The tips page offers a pet first aid overview, with links to more detailed articles. 

Another pet first aid resource we like is from VeterinaryPartner, “Introduction: First Aid.” This comprehensive guide was written by four veterinarians and originally published in 1994, but all 35 of the linked-to pages have been reviewed and revised as needed between 2017 and 2022. 

By systematically reading each of the articles on the AVMA website and the full VeterinaryPartners guide, you’ll have effectively completed a comprehensive home-study course in pet first aid. We hope you’ll plan the occasional refresher course as needed.

Get Professional Help

Your improved ability to recognize an emerging medical crisis, coupled with your basic knowledge of pet first aid techniques, can make the difference between life and death for your pet. 

But keep in mind, it’s called first aid for a reason. Professional veterinary care beyond what you can provide may be needed. 

In the event of a medical emergency, your pet will have the best chances of survival if you seek professional help as soon as possible. 

Even if your efforts at rendering first aid appear to have worked and your pet seems to feel better, it’s still a good idea to consult with a veterinary professional to determine what additional steps, if any, you need to take.

In the event of a medical emergency for your pet, as soon as you are able, we suggest you use those clinic and helpline numbers stored in your phone to call for any professional help you may need.

March is National Pet Poison Prevention Month. 

To research and provide you with information to help you keep your pet safe from poisons, we’ve turned primarily to the Pet Poison Helpline and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center—both offering emergency telephone consultations to pet owners and veterinarians around the clock, 365 days a year. 

We’ve selected lists from both call centers of the most commonly-reported toxins—including human medicines, foods, plants and household products—and the most deadly ones, with links to the source materials to guide you directly to much more detailed information.

We conclude with a “More Resources” section below, in which we recommend specific sections from both organizations’ websites for even more detailed information about all sorts of foods, drugs, plants, household supplies and other toxins known to harm pets. 

We’ve also highlighted some articles from the American Veterinary Medical Association. 

Has Your Pet Been Poisoned?

If you are reading this post because you believe your dog or cat has just eaten or been exposed to something poisonous, before you do anything else, call our clinic during office hours at (317) 852-3323 or call the Pet Poison helpline at (855) 764-7661 or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 right now and follow a veterinarian’s instructions for administering first aid and seeking further treatment.

If you know or suspect your cat or dog has eaten something toxic, call immediately! Your pet’s best chances for survival could very well depend on how quickly you get help.

If possible, have on hand a sample of the poisonous substance and the packaging it came in. The ingredients listed on the label may well determine the next best treatment steps.

To learn what to do in case of a possible poisoning, visit the Pet Poison Helpline’s Emergency Instructions page where you’ll find advice on what to do and, just as important, what not to do.

Despite what you may have heard about home remedies—giving your pet milk, salt, oil or hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting—don’t do anything before you speak with a veterinarian. Depending on the toxin, you could make matters much worse.

Most Commonly-Reported Toxins

In its 2023 Annual Report Card infographic, the Pet Poison Helpline named these “Top Ten Toxins of 2023:”

• Chocolate
• Grapes and raisins
• Ibuprofen
• Bromethalin (Rat Poison)
• Xylitol
• Marijuana
• Onions
• Anticoagulant Rat Poison
• Vitamin D3
• Carprofen

The ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center listed these most-commonly reported toxins during  2022:

• Over-the-Counter Medications
• Foods for Humans
• Prescription Drugs for Humans
• Chocolate
• Bouquets and Plants
• Household Toxicants
• Veterinary Products
• Rodenticide
• Insecticide
• Recreational Drugs

To see an annotated list of the above toxins, along with an infographic, visit the ASPCA website.  

In years past, the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center has released updated lists in March, so look for the 2023 list to appear on the website in the coming weeks.

Based on a list from the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center, the American Veterinary Medical Association posted “10 poison pills for pets” on its website—an annotated list of over-the-counter and prescription drugs for humans most commonly generating calls to the Center. The drugs are, in order of report frequency:

• Ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®)
• Tramadol (Ultram®)
• Alprazolam (Xanax®)
• Adderall®
• Zolpidem (Ambien®)
• Clonazepam (Klonopin®)
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol®)
• Naproxen (Aleve®, Naprosyn®)
• Duloxetine (Cymbalta®)
• Venlafaxine (Effexor®)

If you keep any of these drugs in your household, we encourage you to read the entire article, including details on each drug and a list of safety tips to protect your pet from being poisoned by over-the-counter and prescription medicines.

The AVMA lists these “7 Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Dog or Cat:

• Xylitol-Containing Products (like sugar-free candy and gum)
• Chocolate
• Onions
• Grapes and Raisins
• Fatty and Fried Foods
• Macadamia Nuts
• Avocados

Here’s an alphabetized list from the ASPCA of “People Foods To Avoid Feeding Your Pets:”

• Alcohol
• Avocado
• Chocolate, Coffee and Caffeine
• Citrus
• Coconut and Coconut Oil
• Grapes and Raisins
• Macadamia Nuts
• Milk and Dairy Products
• Nuts
• Onions, Garlic and Chives
• Raw or Undercooked Meat, Eggs and Bones
• Salt and Salty Snack Foods
• Xylitol
• Yeast Dough

See the article for details about the potential dangers of each food and beverage category to your pet.

The Pet Poison Helpline lists these as the 10 most commonly-reported toxic plants from 2017 through 2022:

• Asiatic Lily, Easter Lily, Tiger Lily, etc.
• Pothos/Devil’s Ivy
• Sago/Cycad Palm
• Tulips
• Peace Lily
• Azaleas
• Aloe
• Day Lily
• Hydrangea
• Philodendron

The Deadliest Pet Toxins

In October 2022, the ASPCA listed these as the 10 deadliest pet toxins:

1. 5-Fluorouracil, a prescription ointment or lotion used to treat skin cancer in humans
2. Amphetamines, most often prescribed for weight loss or ADHD treatment
3. Baclofen, a prescription muscle relaxer for humans
4. Calcium Channel Blockers, prescribed to treat high blood pressure
5. Lamotrigine, a drug prescribed to prevent or reduce the severity of seizures
6. 5-Hydroxytryptophan, or 5-HTP, an over-the-counter supplement often used for sleep or mood moderation.
7. Hops, used by home beer brewers
8. Metaldehyde, the active ingredient in some slug and snail baits
9. Blue-Green Algae, found in some lakes, ponds and rivers
10. Methomyl, found in some fly baits

Visit the posted list for more details.

More Resources

Overall, for the most authoritative, detailed, pet-owner-friendly information on pet poisons, we recommend the Pet Poison Helpline and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center websites.

The Helpline’s comprehensive “Poisons” section can be filtered by the type of poison, with links to detailed information of each toxin and its impact on pets.

In its “Owners” section, the Helpline website offers brief videos and safety tips for pet owners. 

The “Vets” section has continuing education information for veterinary professionals as well as links to conference handouts and a collection of infographics you can see and download for free.

In the “Toxin Tails” section, Pet Poison Helpline features a case each month of a pet successfully treated for poisoning. 

See the “Toxin Trends” section for a color-coded interactive map of the United States showing the origin of calls for the 30 most commonly reported plants, along with charts showing the most frequently reported clinical signs and call frequency by month. 

The Helpline’s blog has numerous posts focused on specific types of hazards, with category filters to help pet owners and veterinarians find the most relevant content.

You can sign up for the Pet Poison Helpline’s free emailed newsletter just above the footer on most pages of their website.

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control website offers a lengthy, searchable directory of toxic plants, by both common and scientific names, that can be filtered for dogs, cats or horses. Click on any plant name to see a photograph and details about the plant and its toxic properties.

In its “Poisonous Household Products” article, the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center evaluates multiple potentially harmful household products, medicines and cosmetics, indicating the potential risks of toxicity associated with each.

“Household Hazards,” from the American Veterinary Medical Association website offers a detailed round-up of potential toxins organized by the area of the house and yard where they might be found. There’s also a section on holiday hazards.

Finally, see our blog post, “Protect Your Dog From Xylitol Poisoning.”

January 2 is National Pet Travel Safety Day, created to promote safe travels for your pet today and throughout the year.  

We researched the topic and found so much good advice that we decided to link to seven web pages we recommend. See our notes to determine which sites are most relevant to your travel plans with your pet.

The Humane Society of the United States provides a page of pointers for safe travel for cats and dogs by car, airplane, ship or train. The section on air travel is especially detailed.

While The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals^® (ASPCA^®) discourages air travel with pets too large to fit under your seat in the cabin, their website does offer safety tips if you must fly your pet in the cargo area. There is also a section on traveling with your pet by car. 

As the title suggests, “The Complete Guide to Traveling With Your Dog” on the American Kennel Club website covers multiple aspects of travel with your dog, including tips for staying in a motel with your canine travel companion.

The American Red Cross website offers advice for traveling with your pet by car and by air, with a link to a page on how to prepare an emergency kit for your pet.

The Centers for Disease Control website has a page dedicated to keeping your pet safe during travel by car and by plane. There is also good advice on keeping your pet safe and healthy once you arrive at your destination. 

WebMD’s Fetch site offers “Car Travel With Pets: 10 Tips for Safety and Security,” with additional notes on travel by plane, train and boat. 

On the Center for Pet Safety website, you’ll find a page summarizing general travel tips as well as specifics for traveling by auto and plane and for staying with your pet in a hotel.

Our Advice

Travel safely every time. Many of the recommended safety precautions are useful for in-town errands and day trips as well as more extended vacation travel. 

Keep your pet inside the car or the cab of your truck. We noticed among the illustrations for these web pages a couple of photographs of dogs with their heads sticking out of car windows—a practice we advise against.

Consider leaving your pet at home. As much as you’d enjoy your pet’s company during your trip, your pet may be happier and less stressed at home with a pet sitter. Our veterinarians can help you determine if your pet’s temperament and general health are suited to travel.

The photographs are heartbreaking, showing so many adorable and obviously adored pets—mostly dogs—who suffocated after getting their heads stuck in snack bags, cereal bags and other types of food bags and containers.

The week after Thanksgiving is National Pet Suffocation Awareness Week. 

In doing our part to make you aware of this often unrecognized and frighteningly common hazard, we visited several websites where we saw the many pictures of pets lost to suffocation. If you click some of the links in this post and browse the pages, you’ll see them, too.

We also found some sadly disturbing facts we want to bring to your attention so you’ll realize just how deadly snack and food bags can be.

Fortunately, once you’re aware of the danger, there are a number of relatively easy steps you can take to reduce the suffocation risks to your own cherished pet. 

After reading this post and making the suggested safety precautions a habit, you can join us in spreading the word among your family, friends and co-workers about the dangers of pet suffocation and how to mitigate them.

Documenting the Danger

According to Dr. Jason Nicholas, president and chief medical officer at Preventive Vet—

• A reported two to three pets die in the U.S. each week from suffocating in chip and other snack bags. We don’t know how many additional suffocation deaths go unreported and uncounted.
• Many pet owners whose dogs suffocated in snack and food bags were gone from the house for only 20 to 30 minutes.
• It can take as little as three to five minutes for a pet to suffocate in a snack or food bag.

Preventive Vet goes on to rank the greatest suffocation hazards to pets.

• 68% are snack or chip bags
• 6% are cereal bags
• 6% are pet food bags
• 5% are pet treat bags

Bread bags, cheese bags and hard plastic and cardboard containers are other common suffocation hazards.

Pets find 24% of these deadly bags in or near home trash cans or recycling bins, 20% were grabbed off a coffee table or side table, 15% were grabbed off a counter and 5% were found outside in the yard. Pets found other bags inside cars or under furniture.

On a web page titled, “Snack Safely—Keep Your Pets Safe from Snack Bag Suffocation,” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explains why the bags are so dangerous:

“Snack, cereal, food-storage, and other plastic bags are made from different types of plastic materials which are sometimes layered, particularly in the case of potato chip bags. These plastic materials include Mylar (polyethylene terephthalate, or PET), aluminum-laminated polypropylene, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). The materials make the bags light and flexible, which is perfect for storing food. However, it’s a bad combination for pets who put their head inside the bags. Bags containing food or that once contained tasty morsels are particularly dangerous because pets can smell the food and are more likely to find the bags when they’re left on the counter, the coffee table, the floor, or in the trash.”

The Need for Awareness

Preventive Vet has documented the need for greater awareness of suffocation hazards, noting on its comprehensive web page on pet suffocation, “73% of people who lost or almost lost a pet to suffocation were unaware of or had never realized the possibility that their pet could suffocate in a chip, snack, cereal, or other food bag until it happened!

“Many people don’t realize that a pet, no matter its size or strength, can have a hard time getting bags off its head once they are stuck. Not only do cats and dogs lack thumbs to help them grab and remove the bag, but the bags quickly form a vacuum-like seal around their head as they breathe in and quickly deplete the air within the bag. As this happens, the oxygen levels quickly decline, and the carbon dioxide levels quickly rise. The entrapped pet panics from not being able to breathe normally and eventually dies from asphyxiation.”

“Many people erroneously believe that a dog can simply remove a chip bag from his head with his front paws or tear through it with his claws. This is just not the case,” writes Bonnie Harlan, who founded Prevent Pet Suffocation, Inc., after her dog Blue suffocated in a chip bag. “Once the bag starts to seal around the dog’s neck, it’s extremely difficult to break the suction of the seal. ALL dogs are vulnerable to pet suffocation—no matter their size, breed, or age. No dog, from a tiny Teacup Poodle to a massive Great Dane, can win a fight with a chip bag or other plastic bag over his head once the bag seals and he starts to lose oxygen.”

Reducing the Risks to Your Pet

Once you’re aware of the dangers, there are a number of simple steps you can take to reduce your pet’s risk of suffocation. The following are selected safety precautions compiled directly from Preventive Vet, Prevent Pet Suffocation and the FDA:

• Empty packaged snack, cereal and dry pet foods from bags into resealable hard containers immediately after bringing them home. Any foods left in the original packaging should be kept out of your pet’s reach until you’re ready to transfer the contents to safe containers.
• Keep scissors handy so you can cut up all chip and food bags into pieces that can’t seal around your pet’s nose and mouth before discarding them into secure trash cans your pet can’t get into. If scissors are not readily available, tie the bags in knots or cut open one side and/or the bottom of the bag with a knife.
• Serve snacks in bowls—not bags—and secure any bagged leftovers well out of your pet’s reach.
• Don’t let cats play with plastic bags or food cartons, and don’t let them access bags stored on top of counters and appliances.
• Put lids back on jars and containers before disposing of them.
• Restrict your pet’s access to the kitchen, pantry or any area where you store snack and pet food bags.
• Check your purse and briefcase for snack bags and food your pet could find.
• Keep chip and snack bags and drink cups out of your vehicle, and don’t leave your dog alone in the car with fast food bags, snack bags or food and drink containers.
• Beware of high-risk events—birthday parties, holiday celebrations, sports events, cook-outs and other gatherings—when snacks packaged in bags are likely to be served.
• Do your part to increase awareness about pet suffocation among friends and family members of all ages.
• Teach your children not to leave snack bags and food in their backpacks and bedrooms.
• Educate dog walkers, pet sitters and baby sitters about the dangers of pet suffocation.
• Remind overnight guests not to leave food bags and snacks in their handbags and luggage.
• Follow these guidelines beyond your household to protect wildlife, stray dogs and feral cats.

From Awareness to Action

Now that you are aware of the grave dangers of suffocation posed by snack and food bags, we strongly encourage you to incorporate the simple safety precautions into your household routines—not only to protect your own pet but to honor the memory of the many beloved pets lost to suffocation. 

It’s considered “the world’s deadliest infectious disease,” killing almost 60,000 people worldwide each year, even though it’s 100% preventable. 

Since 2007, on September 28, we’ve observed World Rabies Day to raise awareness and further improve efforts to prevent the spread of rabies in communities all over the world. 

A Day to Celebrate

Health organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are collaborating to eliminate all human deaths from rabies caused by dogs by 2030.

Meanwhile, Americans have cause for celebration on World Rabies Day, September 28, 2023. 

Rabies is still present throughout the United States, but our high rabies vaccination rates among dogs and cats have made rabies in our beloved pets and other domesticated animals relatively rare. These days, 90% of reported cases in animals occur in wildlife like bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes.

While about 60,000 Americans get treated every year to prevent rabies infection after being bitten or scratched by an animal that could be rabid, according to the CDC, “The number of rabies-related human deaths in the United States has declined, from more than 100 annually in the early 1900s to just one or two per year.” 

How the Rabies Virus Infects People

Rabies is transmitted through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth when they contact the saliva or brain or nervous system tissue of an infected animal. Most often, people contract rabies when bitten by an infected animal. Rarely, people can be infected through scratches, abrasions or open wounds exposed to saliva or other infectious material from a rabid animal. 

Once contracted, rabies infects the central nervous system. Without treatment after potential exposure and before symptoms start, the virus can cause disease in the brain, resulting in death.  

Effective medical care for a person who may have been exposed to the rabies virus is postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), consisting of a dose of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and rabies vaccine given on the day of exposure, followed by doses of vaccine on days 3, 7 and 14. These days, vaccines are given in the upper arm and are relatively painless.

Contact with infected bats is the leading cause of human death from rabies in the US. According to the CDC, 7 of 10 Americans who die from rabies were infected by bats whose bites and scratches can be so small as to go undetected.  

Petting a rabid animal or contact with its blood, urine or feces are not associated with risk of infection and not treated as an exposure to the disease. Contact with a person infected by the virus and receiving rabies vaccine is also not considered exposure to the disease and does not require treatment.

If you’ve had contact with wildlife or unfamiliar animals—especially if you’ve been bitten or scratched—you should check with a doctor or a public health professional to see if you’re at risk for rabies. 

International Travel Precautions

Rabies remains common in dogs living in many other countries. Most rabies deaths in humans around the world are caused by dog bites. About 25% of reported deaths from rabies among humans in the US were caused by bites from rabid dogs during international travel. 

If you plan to travel outside the country, check the CDC’s Travelers Health Destination List of 244 countries before you go, looking for advisories not only about rabies, but many other potential diseases you might be exposed to in the country you plan to visit. 

As one example of the available information, see the Destination List entry for Mexico.

Once you and your family arrive at your destination, avoid contact with dogs and other animals—no matter how adorable they appear.

How the Rabies Virus Infects Animals

Rabies infects only mammals—warm-blooded animals with fur (like people). Pets and livestock can get rabies—usually from contact with wildlife—and nearly all that do have not been vaccinated or are not up-to-date on their vaccines. 

Fortunately, because laws requiring pets to be vaccinated for rabies are so prevalent, dogs account for only about 1% of rabid animals reported in the US each year. 

Some animals, including rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, opossums, rats, mice, guinea pigs, gerbils and hamsters, almost never get rabies. Birds, chickens, snakes, fish, turtles, lizards and insects never get rabies.

You can’t tell if an animal is rabid just by looking at it. Some infected animals may not appear ill at all. It takes laboratory testing to know for sure. 

Some rabid animals may behave strangely—aggressively trying to bite you or other animals or drooling. Others may seem timid or shy, move slowly and act unusually tame, letting you get close to them when ordinarily they would be afraid. If you see normally nocturnal animals like raccoons and skunks out during daylight hours with no apparent fear of humans, they could be infected with rabies. 

The best way to protect yourself and your pet from rabies is stay away from wild animals—especially bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes—whether or not they are showing symptoms of illness.

If you suspect an animal you have encountered may be rabid, contact local animal control or the state rabies consultation control contact at (317) 233-7272 Monday through Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. After hours, call (317) 233-1325.

The Rabies Vaccine: It’s the Law

At Brownsburg Animal Clinic, we require any animal visiting our facility to have a current rabies vaccination. Our policy states, “Any pet brought into the clinic with a past-due rabies vaccination will, if health permits, receive a rabies vaccine.” And we mean it!

Besides, it’s the law. 

Indiana state law requires all pet owners to keep dogs and cats up-to-date on rabies vaccinations. According to the rabies information page on the state’s website, “Under Indiana law, all dogs, cats and ferrets older than 3 months of age must be vaccinated against the rabies virus. State law allows the use of 1-year and 3-year vaccines according to approved label directions.”

Although we can use a rabies antibody titer to estimate your pet’s immune response against the rabies virus, either through exposure to the disease or a vaccine, the state’s web page summarizing the law makes it clear there is no legal substitute for vaccinating your pet. “In Indiana, rabies vaccination exemptions are NOT allowed. The rabies titer cannot be used in lieu of rabies vaccination for any dog, cat or ferret.”

Further, Indiana law states, “The rabies vaccine must be administered by a licensed and accredited veterinarian or under the direct supervision of a licensed and accredited veterinarian. Under direct supervision means the veterinarian is on the premises at the time the vaccine is administered.”

We use only state-approved vaccines, complete all the required paperwork and issue you a certificate and a tag. Attach the rabies tag to your pet’s collar to be worn at all times. 

Animals can be considered immunized against rabies within 28 days after the first vaccination, when antibodies peak. Normally, the first booster shot is due one year after the initial puppy vaccines. Then boosters are due every three years. An animal is considered currently vaccinated immediately after receiving a booster shot.

If your currently vaccinated dog or cat is bitten or scratched by a rabid animal, we recommend revaccinating your pet within the next four days, followed by 45 days at home under your control and observation. If you see any signs of illness, call us to schedule an appointment right away. 

The state recommends euthanizing unvaccinated animals exposed to rabies.

Do Your Part!

Keeping your pet’s rabies vaccine current protects him or her from catching the disease from wildlife and prevents your pet from transmitting rabies to you, your family and other people. 

To do your part to prevent rabies, once the initial one-year booster has been administered, you simply schedule a booster every third year. That’s it!

To tell when your pet’s next booster shot is due, look on any clinic invoice to see upcoming due dates for all vaccines. Most often, the due dates will coincide with annual wellness exams, so you won’t even have to make a special visit. 

You can also look at the date on the rabies tag we issued the last time your pet had a booster shot. For all but our youngest patients, the next booster is probably due three years from the date listed on the tag. 

To find out exactly when your pet’s next booster shot is due, call us at (317) 852-3323.

The National Fire Protection Association reports at least 40,000 pets die each year in house fires, often because of smoke inhalation. 

In observance of National Pet Fire Safety Day on July 15, with help from Brownsburg Fire Territory Public Education Manager Nina Powell, we’ve compiled a number of precautions you can take to help keep your pet safe from fire.

Fire Prevention

According to American Humane, more than 500,000 pets are affected each year by house fires, including more than 1,000 fires started by pets. 

One of the most common ways pets start fires results from their access to open flames from candles or fireplaces. One cat knocked burning candles off a bedroom shelf onto a mattress, starting a fire that destroyed most of the house. Other cats and dogs have suffered serious burns by brushing too close to a candle or fireplace flame and setting their fur on fire. 

To avoid such mishaps, we advise you never to leave a pet unattended around an open flame. Protect burning candles with hurricane glass holders with heavy bases and use a fire screen to shield pets from fireplace fires. Better yet, use battery-powered flameless candles and enclose your fireplace in glass to eliminate this risk.

Pets sometimes start fires by pawing stove burner knobs. A dog jumped up on a stove to get a slice of pizza from a box left on the stovetop and in the process, turned on a burner. The pizza box caught fire, quickly spreading flames through the rest of the kitchen. If your pet is able to reach the stove or climb onto the control panel from a countertop, cover or remove the knobs and activate child safety lock features, if available.

Electrical fires can start after a pet chews the insulation off a loose power cord. Use cord covers to protect exposed cords from chewing. Search online for “dog and cat power cord covers” to see the many options available. 

“Although we haven’t had any incidents here in Brownsburg, nationwide one of the concerns is with heating lamps for pet reptiles,” said Powell. “If those lamps aren’t properly managed according to the manufacturers’ instructions, they can start fires.”

One dog started a fire by pulling his bed up against a portable space heater. The bed ignited, and the fire spread, damaging the house and sending both the dog and owner to the hospital. If you use a portable heater, make sure yours stays relatively cool to the touch and automatically shuts off if knocked over. 

“All the modern space heaters have the tip-over feature with automatic shut-off,” said Powell. “I would definitely tell someone who is using an older model space heater to replace it with a newer one with that tip-over feature.”

Don’t leave your pet unattended in a room with a portable heater.

Install smoke detectors monitored by an emergency response service. Whether or not you are home to report the fire, fire fighters can be dispatched quickly after the alarm is activated to help save your home and family—including your pet.

“I’m 100% in favor of interconnected smoke alarms so when one goes off, all go off,” said Powell. “Even better are interconnected smoke alarms that are monitored.”

Sadly, two pets—a dog and a cat—died in Brownsburg house fires this year. “It’s very devastating for us personally and hard to tell the owners,” said Powell.

“Fortunately, we’ve had several occasions this year where we’ve saved pets from fires,” said Powell. “Every one of our fire trucks has O₂ masks for pets so we can resuscitate them.”

Fire Emergency Preparation

Make and rehearse an emergency home evacuation plan that includes your pet. 

See our blog post “Preparing Your Pets for Disaster” for general information about planning for emergencies.

“Practice your fire escape plan with your family and your pet,” advised Powell. “With your smoke alarm in test mode, let your pet hear the sound the alarm makes and show them where they’re supposed to go when they hear that sound.” 

Powell emphasized that step one in any emergency is to call 911. 

“The sooner you call 911, the sooner the fire fighters can get to your house and rescue you and your pet.”

Family members should not endanger their own lives attempting to rescue a pet. If the pet can’t be found and brought to safety immediately, leave the door open and call to the pet from a safe distance outside. 

“Of course, if the pet is right there and can safely exit the house along with the people, that’s great,” Powell said. “But some pets are programmed to hide in an emergency like a house fire, and we don’t encourage people to delay their exit while they search inside a burning house for a pet.

“Please exit the home and call us immediately.”

Once fire fighters arrive, let them know a pet is still inside. “It helps if you describe the pet to the crew and tell them its name and any words it might respond to,” said Powell.

In case your pet gets lost in the confusion of a house fire, make sure he or she is microchipped and wearing a collar with identification tags attached. For details, see our post, “How to Get a Lost Pet Back Home.”

For Owners of Service Animals

Owners of service dogs may call the Brownsburg Fire Territory’s non-emergency number at (317) 852-1190 to have notes about the presence of a service animal added to the records for their address. 

As defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, a “service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.”

“It helps us to know about the service animal at that address ahead of time and anticipate any possible delay in the owner’s exiting due to a disability,” Powell said.

I came across a good article on the American Veterinary Medical Association web site about caring for pets in cold weather. I encourage all my clients to read and heed!