Thanksgiving and holiday pet safety: the reminders a vet clinic should send, and when

The calls a vet clinic dreads in the holidays are the ones that a single message could have prevented: the dog that ate the turkey carcass, the box of chocolates, the sugar-free gum from a visitor's bag. A short reminder a week before each holiday, with your hours and the emergency number in it, is the cheapest care a clinic can give.

What to warn about before Thanksgiving

The FDA's holiday guidance for dog and cat owners covers the Thanksgiving table:¹

• Fatty scraps: do not give pets table scraps high in fat.
• Bones: keep turkey carcasses and steak bones away, as they can get stuck in a dog's esophagus, stomach or trachea.
• Chocolate: unsweetened or baking chocolate is especially dangerous. If a pet eats chocolate, treat it as an emergency and call the veterinarian immediately.
• Alcohol: keep pets away from it.
• Too much, too fast: if a dog is in obvious distress from eating too much too fast, call the veterinarian immediately.

Xylitol: the one to explain

The FDA says xylitol can cause a sharp drop in a dog's blood sugar within 10 to 60 minutes of eating it. Signs start with vomiting, then decreased activity, weakness, staggering, incoordination, collapse and seizures. If a dog may have eaten it, call the vet, an emergency clinic or animal poison control right away.²

Owners rarely know where it is. The FDA lists sugar-free chewing gum and candy, baked goods, some peanut and nut butters, toothpaste, mouthwash, breath mints, cough syrup, chewable vitamins, over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements.² Visitors' bags are a common source in the holidays. The FDA adds that xylitol does not seem to be as dangerous for cats.²

What to add for December

• Tinsel, ribbons and string can cause serious stomach and intestinal damage, so pick them up after gifts are opened.¹
• Salt-dough ornaments contain a great deal of salt, which can be fatal to pets if eaten.¹
• Poinsettia, mistletoe and holly can make pets ill, though severe mistletoe poisoning is uncommon and usually needs a large amount.¹

Email for the tips, texts only with agreement

A holiday safety message is not about a client's own appointment, so our recommendation is to send it by email to all clients, and by text only to clients who agreed to receive texts from you. Clients can opt out of automated texts by replying "stop" or similar words, and the FCC's rules give you at most ten business days to honor it.³ Your appointment texts work the same way as in our vet appointment reminders guide.

Messages you can copy

Replace the words in brackets, including your own holiday hours.

Clients who miss a visit in the busy weeks can get the rebooking message from our no-show policy guide.

What can run by itself

• The holiday messages, written once and sent on their dates by email, and by text only to clients who agreed.
• The pet's name in each message, from your records, so it reads like a note from the clinic and not a newsletter.
• Opt-outs, recorded the moment a STOP arrives, as in our front desk automation guide.
• Your holiday hours, also set on your phone message and booking page from the same dates.

What stays with your team

• The emergency call itself, and the advice to bring a pet in.
• Which emergency clinic you send clients to when you are closed.
• Clients with older or ill pets, who may welcome a call before the holiday.

More of what we write for practices is on the blog.

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