Rising to the Occasion

A Little Dough
I attempted to make bread this weekend. I say attempted because the loaf looked beautiful, but it was nearly impossible to get out of the pan and then it was really dense and doughy. Perhaps a lesson from a real bread maker is in order. When considering what to blog about this week I remembered that bread dough can actually be dangerous if ingested by an animal. Do you know why?

Rise and Shine
Of course the bread dough I'm referring to must contain yeast. When ingested, the animal's body heat activates the yeast which causes the dough to rise in the stomach. Even a small amount of dough can cause a problem since the dough can rise to many times its size. When the dough rises it causes the animal's stomach to distend and can cause abdominal pain, bloat, vomiting, disorientation and depression.

A by-product of the fermentation process is ethanol - that's right your dog can get drunk. That may seem like a funny statement, but it is a serious condition. The ethanol poisoning can be fatal if not treated.

Treatment for bread dough ingestion usually starts with trying to get the animal to vomit up the bread dough, depending on how long it has been since ingestion. The best results for vomiting are within 30 minutes or less of ingestion since the dough hasn't had much time to rise. There have been cases where the dough has had to be surgically removed. Treatment for alcohol poisoning is IV fluids to flush the ethanol out of the blood and hospitalization to monitor recovery.

The moral of the story....bread dough is a no, no.

Where There's Smoke...

Did you know?

According to the US Fire Administration's website (www.usfa.dhs.gov), more than 1.7 million uncontrolled fires occur annually in the US. The Fire Administration does not keep tally, but other groups have estimated that more than 500,000 pets are killed by house fires each year. Why are we so good at saving human lives, but our pets seem to perish?

Let me tell you why.

Human lives are saved from a tragic end in house fires every year because of mandatory use of smoke detectors. Unfortunately, the sharp, unfamiliar noise designed to alert people also scares our pets causing them to go find a "safe" place to hide making it more difficult, and even dangerous, to find them in a scary situation.

But even smoke alarms in good working order won't save pets whose owners are not home to let them out. Sadly, many pets die simply because they were trapped inside.

To help prevent the loss of your pet, the first steps start with you, the pet owner. Prevent potential problems by "pet-proofing" your home and looking for fire hazards. Consider confining younger puppies and kittens when you aren't home as a means of preventing them from accidentally starting a fire.

Experts recommend that pets left at home should be kept in rooms on the lower level, near entrances, so that fire fighters can find them more quickly and easily. Window clings that alert fire fighters to the presence of pets are also a good idea. Newer clings can be taken down and edited as your pet family grows!

Practice "fire drills" with your family and include the pets. Keep collars and leashes handy and know your escape routes. Pets left home alone can't escape on their own. The use of smoke detectors connected to monitoring centers can greatly increase their chances of survival in the event of a fire. Monitored smoke detectors can also protect cherished possessions in addition to saving your four legged friends.

Responsible pet ownership includes planning for unexpected emergencies. A house fire is a prime example of how devastating and deadly these emergencies can be.