Can your pets share in holiday feasts?

By Eileen Salmas
 
It's OK to feed your dog a little turkey so it can join in your Thanksgiving celebration. Just make sure to avoid the fat and skin and be careful to remove all the bones - even small ones. Roasted bones of any type of meat are brittle and very dangerous. The splinters can tear up a dog's intestines. To avoid a tragedy, cut across the grain of the meat and pick out any bones. Drumsticks are especially bad news. Don't ever give your dog the cooked carcass to eat - what are you going to use to make turkey soup if you do?
 
The ASPCA has some useful pointers: in an e-mail blast they mention a taste of mashed potato or a lick of pumpkin pie shouldn't pose a problem. However, alcoholic beverages, coffee, onions, fatty foods, yeast dough and macadamia nuts can all lead to stomach upset, diarrhea or even worse - an inflammatory condition of the pancreas known as pancreatitis. A special no-no is chocolate, which if ingested can lead to death.
 
They spell it out here with a list of foods to avoid feeding your pet, along with other hazards. If you are not sure about certain foods, they spell it out here.