Hanukkah Safety.

We found this interesting article about pets and Hanukkah, and wanted to share. Hanukkah brings excitement with rich foods, toys, gifts and the beautiful Menorah. It can be easy to forget these traditions as well as Christmas traditions are not always good for our pets. Plan ahead to insure the safety of the fluffy members of your family. 1)Donuts, also known as Sufganiyot, are made of fried dough filled with artificially colored red custard or jelly and sprinkled with powered sugar. This pastry sounds yummy but is loaded with fat, sugar and lots of calories. A pet ingesting a Sufganiyot could suffer severe gastrointestinal distress. 2)Latkes. Oh so delicious. We use to make these at Christmas when I was a child. My mom sometimes tried things from other cultures at Christmas, this was a favorite. These are made with shredded potatoes, eggs, and fresh diced onions, fried and topped with sour cream or applesauce. Fresh onions can cause Heinz body anemia in pets. Onions are toxic to dogs as well as cats. 3)Chocolate Gold Coins. At Hanukkah children eagerly await to receive these foiled covered chocolate coins. Leaving them in places pets can reach and eat them can cause severe toxicity in pets, as well as foil ingested can cause major problems. 4) Dreidel. These are really neat four sided tops. The top spinning can draw the attention of your family pet. Keep these and other small toys out of reach. 5) Menorah. This is the symbol of Hanukkah. Over eight days the candles are lit until the Menorah is fully ablaze. Keep pets away for home, human and pet safety. Happy Hanukkah.