I got this e-mail from my rescue organization and thought I'd share

I received an email from one of our adoptive families that had a horrible scare that I want to share. They had their Griff at the in-laws house while they ran errands uncrated (why crating is a good thing). Seems there was a wonderful box of 24 chocolates on the dining room table that their Griff strategically climbed up to eat. When they returned he was foaming at the mouth and on the brink of passing out. They immediately called the ER vet who had them pour hydrogen peroxide down his throat to make him throw up then they rushed him to the hospital where he stayed for two days.

This is the season that we are all busy and there are things laying around that we don’t normally have in the homes or family and friends are coming and going who may or may not know what is dangerous to our fur babies. There are so many things that are poisonous to our dogs besides chocolate - like potpourri, sugarless gum (Xylitol artificial sweetener), Macadamia nuts, grapes/raisins, etc . Some foods which are edible for humans can pose hazards for dogs because of their different metabolism. Some may cause only mild digestive upsets, whereas, others can cause severe illness, and even death.

Please be extra careful and watch your babies close. Remember as family and friends come and go they don’t always watch to see who is slipping out the door. With all the commotion it’s easy to not realize your little one is missing. Please keep their identification on them at all times just in case they do slip out.

Tis the season to be jolly so let’s keep our little ones safe!

Cats will die if they have .....it's either Ibuprofen or acetaminophen. They don't have an enzyme to digest it. They'll die within a minute or two if they ingest it. There is no come back for it; it acts too quickly, and it's a horrible way to die for them.

Poinsettias are very bad for cats as well. I never have them around the holidays.

Here's a poem I got from the rescue org. Really fitting since I have a puppy mill boy right now but he'll be adopted in 3 months.

To all of those who foster…thank you for sharing your home, heart, and love with all the fur babies that come your way.

THE CHRISTMAS WISH

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
Dog toys lay scattered, including remains of a stuffed mouse.
The new foster dog lay snoozing by the fireplace without care,
No doubt dreaming that his forever home soon would be there.

His foster mom gazed down and memories flooded her head,
Off all the other mutts that had shared his thread-bare dog bed.

There was Penny the whippet/terrier, her broken leg long ago fixed,
Followed by Kodiak, a most playful and handsome husky mix.

Tara the epileptic golden who had captured her heart,
Lived only four months before she had to depart.

Sweet Lyndsay, a female lab mix, so shiny and black,
had been removed from a home where she had been whacked.

Papillion's Pedro & Preston - her puppy mill boys,
It took them months to learn how to play with their toys.

The senior collie named Taz who came to her with heartworm,
Lives now, no longer sick and infirm.

Watson, the lively Brittany from Whitmore Lake,
found a great new home where he learned to sit and shake.

Then there were the pitty pups Lola, Trixie and Tigger,
All saved from death row, who would have figured?

Ah yes, she remembered, blinking away tears,
So many little faces she had loved through the years.
How many nights had she spent at the vet?
Too many to count, on that you could bet.

Each one she would watch grow healthy and fit,
Knowing she would stick it out with them and never quit.
Eventually the time would come for them to leave,
But not before one last cuddle and kiss were retrieved.

As the foster mom watched the new boy from her chair,
She realized that for most of them, life was just not fair.
Because she knew, as he continue to dream,
Those other people were wrong, this little boy wasn’t mean.
As with the others, he only needed a warm and safe home,
Not at a shelter, but one that he could call his own.

Her eyes finally closed and she drifted off to sleep,
As the dog awoke to the sound of shuffling feet.
The boy sat in that much used dog bed,
And looked up to a round, jolly man dressed all in red.
Thank you Santa, he said, for granting my Christmas wish.
Rescued from that terrible life, one I surely won’t miss.

Now one more favor, if you don’t mind,
Please grant a wish to her who has been so kind.
Santa smiled and patted the boy on the head.
That I’ve already done, he quietly said.
Her wish was to rescue one more, don’t you see,
And that special boy now sits in front of me.

Denise Eichburg

I had just opened this thread, but not started to read it yet, then went into the kitchen to get my cup of tea, saw a chocolate santa on the kitchen bench, pushed it right away from the edge in case Moppy might smell it and eat it.

Then came back to read