Peoria Humane Society

Cross Species Issues

Protecting Your Pet

Tips on How to Protect Your Pet and What To Do If Your Pet is Lost

Most people consider pets part of the family and do a really good job of providing the protection and care they need. But even the most diligent pet owner can have a pet slip through an open door or gate and then the heartache begins. The Peoria Humane Society and American Humane Association offer these tips on how to protect your pet from getting lost and what steps you should take if your pet does get lost.

How to Protect Your Pet

Make sure your dog and cat always wears a collar with a current identification tag. Pet stores, veterinary offices, and animal shelters often have forms to order ID tags.
The tag should include name, address, phone number (day and evening is best) and the pet's name. If you're willing to pay a reward, then put the word REWARD on the tag too.
Put a temporary tag on your pet when you move residences that includes a relative's or friend's telephone number. Many animals are lost when owners are moving. Use masking tape over your current tag or consider purchasing an instant tag, now available at pet stores and other retail outlets.
Keep a file with a written description of your pet that includes their size, markings, weight, and unusual features (like a white cat might have a blue eye and a green eye).
Keep a photo on file to use for posters or to take to the animal shelter.
Keep your cats indoors and tagged! Many stray cats that end up at shelters are indoor cats that slipped past an open door.
Get your pet a tattoo or microchip. Tattooing is a permanent ID system that involves marking pertinent information on the skin of the pet. Microchipping involves implanting a tiny electronic capsule under the skin that can later be scanned (many animal care and control agencies, veterinary clinics, and research labs have scanners) to identify you as the owner.
Keep dog license tags and rabies tags up-to-date as they can help shelters locate the pet's owner.

What to Do When Your Pet is Lost

Act fast. Don't wait days hoping they will come home. The quicker you begin your search for your lost pet, the better the odds of finding them.
Check PAWS every day. Don't just call, visit and physically search for your pet. Unless you lost a Dalmatian, many animals are difficult to describe over the phone.
Use your pet's photo to make "lost pet" signs. Put them up in your neighborhood and in local post offices, libraries, pet stores, vet offices, groceries stores. Inform your vet and groomer that your pet is lost in case they receive a call
Place ads in local newspapers and offer a reward in case someone found your untagged pet and was thinking of keeping him.
Watch the found ads. Respond to any that might be close to your pets description. A week of wandering can make a white pet look a drab gray and their description may not exactly fit how you remember Tiger.
Call the radio station. Some radio stations will broadcast lost pet information free. Give them very detailed information on where the pet was lost, its description and how to contact you.
Search your neighborhood or area where the pet was lost. Ask people if they have seen your pet. Let them know your pet's missing and offer a reward. Call your pet and check any places they could have become trapped, such as basements, garages, or under vehicles.
Often times lost pets will hide during the day, so be sure to go out again at night with a flashlight and call out for them. Sometimes a can of food can lure a hungry and scared pet to you.

For more tips on finding a lost pet, contact the PAWS at (309)686-7297 or the American Humane Association at 303-792-9900.

Toxic Plant List

This list should not be taken as complete. It has been compiled from various sources. Also be aware that levels of toxicity vary.

If you think your pet may have eaten a toxic plant, call your veterinarian or emergency clinic immediately. For 24 hour emergency information, call the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center.

1.Alocasia
2.Amaryllis, esp. bulb
3.Anemone
4.Angel's trumpet
5.Almond
6.Arrow grasses - Leaves
7.Arrowhead vine
8.Asparagus Fern
9.Atropa belladonna
10.Autumn Crocus - Bulbs
11.Avocado - Leaves and stems
12.Azalea
13.Balsam Pear
14.Baneberry
15.Belladonna
16.Bird of paradise
17.Bittersweet-leaves, unripe fruit,
18.Black Nightshade - Berries
19.Black-eyed Susan-
20.Black locust
21.Bleeding heart
22.Boston Ivy
23.Box elder - Leaves and twigs
24.Buckeye - All parts
25.Bunchberry
26.Buttercup
27.Caladium
28.Calla lilly - Bulbs
29.Castor bean - Seeds
30.Cherry - Seeds
31.Chinaberry
32.Chokecherry - Bark and seeds
33.Chrysanthemum
34.Collodium
35.Coriaria
36.Creeping Fig
37.Crown of Thorns
38.Daffodil - esp. bulb
39.Deadly nightshade
40.Delphinium
41.Dieffenbachia
42.Drunk Cane
43.Dumbcane Dutchman's Breeches
44.Eggplant-Green growth and sprouts
45.Elephant's Ears
46.Elderberry
47.English Ivy - Berries and leaves
48.Euonymus
49.Ficus - Leaves
50.Four-o-clocks,
51.Foxglove
52.Goldenchain tree - Beanlike pods,
53.Ground cherry
54.Henbane
55.Holly
56.Honeysuckle
57.Horse chestnut
58.Hyacinth - Bulbs
59.Hydrangea
60.Iris
61.Ivy
62.Japanese Plum
63.Jasmine
64.Jerusalem Cherry - esp.berries
65.Jimsonweed
66.Lantana - Unripe blackish berries
67.Larkspur
68.Laurels
69.Lilly of the valley
70.Locoweed
71.Lupine
72.Marijuana
73.Mayapple
74.Mescal bean - Seeds.
75.Mistletoe - esp. berries
76.Mock Orange
77.Monkey pod
78.Monkshood
79.Morning glory-Most parts
80.Mountain Laurel
81.Mushrooms
82.Nightshade
83.Nutmeg
84.Nux Vomica
85.Oleander
86.Pothos
87.Peach pits
88.Peony - Roots
89.Periwinkle -Most parts
90.Peyote - Buttons
91.Philodendron Leaves,stems and stalks
92.Pigweed
93.Poison Hemlock
94.Poke Weed
95.Potato - Greens and sprouts
96.Pot Mum - green growth
97.Precatory beans - Seeds
98.Rhododendron
99.Rhubarb - Leaf blade
100.Rosary Pea - Seeds
101.Skunk Cabbage.
102.Snowdrop - Bulbs
103.Snow-on-the-mountain
104.Soapberry
105.Spurges
106.Thorn apple
107.Tobacco - All parts
108.Tomato - Vine and all
109.Trumpet Vine
110.Tulip - Esp.the bulb
111.Umbrella Plant
112.Water Hemlock - Esp. tubers
113.Walnut - Hulls
114.Weeping Fig
115.Wild Cherry
116.Wisteria - Seeds
117.Yellow jasmine
118.Yew

Losing a Pet

The loss of a beloved animal companion can be a devastating event. Whether the animal dies, is lost or stolen, or must be placed in a new home, the feelings of loss, pain and grief can make this one of the most difficult times in your life.

When your pet dies, a deep and important bond is broken. Sorrow at losing a beloved friend is a normal and natural reaction, but our culture does not provide an acceptable way of mourning the loss of an animal companion. Well-meaning friends and relatives may not realize how important your pet was to you, or how deep is your sorrow.

The first step in dealing with your grief is to acknowledge your feelings. Think about what your pet meant to you. Our pets love and accept us unconditionally, whether we are young or old, rich or poor, healthy or ill. They just love us. Once you realize what your animal meant to you, give yourself permission to grieve. Realize that your tears and anguish are a normal response to emotional pain.

The Stages of Grief

There are typical stages in the grieving process, although not everyone experiences all states or symptoms. Any of the following may be felt: Numbness, anger, denial, shock, bargaining, guilt, long periods of crying and depression. Grief may cause loss of appetite, sleeplessness, lack of concentration, irritability or other changes in mood or habit. Gradually, these feelings should become less intense.

Depending on their ages, children may experience many of these same emotions following the death of a pet. Children should be encouraged to share their feelings and emotions freely with people they love and trust.

How Long Does Grief Last?

The intensity and longevity of your grief depend on many things, including how close you feel to the animal which has died, the length of your relationship with the animal, whether the loss was preventable and what other stresses you were facing at the time. Acknowledging your grief and allowing yourself to grieve are the only ways to ever resolve it.

Suggested Activities

Say goodbye to your animal, even if it is already dead. Let it know how much you loved (and still love) it and how much it enriched your life. Some people "talk" to the deceased animal, while others write a poem or letter.

Have a funeral, memorial service or other ritual, which you design and which has meaning for you. Give a donation in your animal's memory to an animal shelter or similar agency. Have a favorite photo of the animal enlarged and displayed in your home. Share your feelings with a trusted friend or relative who understands what your pet meant to you.

Remember the good times you and your animal companion shared. Think about the special habits or characteristics which made your pet unique. Remember the joy and laughter your animal gave you and the fun you had together.

Support for Animal Loss

Your grief is personal, but it need not be solitary. You can participate in a support group for people who have recently lost an animal companion or who are anticipating the loss of a pet. Some of the questions you may want to explore include:

When is it time to say goodbye? The feeling that losing a pet is like losing a member of your family. Extended grieving for an animal you lost some time ago. Why we often feel guilty about the death of our pets. What specific arrangements to make for euthanasia. How to take care of the animal's remains. How to memorialize your animal. When (or whether) to get another animal.

Reading List for Coping with Pet Loss

Coping With Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet Moira K. Anderson, Peregrine Press, 1987.
The Dead Bird* Margaret Brown, Addison-Wesley, 1958.
The Accident* Carol Carrick, Houghton Mifflin, 1976.
Joy in a Whoolly Coat Julie Adams Church, H.J. Kramer, Inc., 1987.
How to Be Your Pet's Best Friend Dr. Michael W. Fox, Coward, 1981 (See chapter, "Euthanasia").
Goodbye, Max* Holly Keller, Greenwillow Books, 1987.
When Bad Things Happen to Good People Harold Kuschner, Avon, 1983.
A Snowflake in My Hand Samantha Mooney, Delacorte, 1983.
Pet Loss: A Thoughtful Guide for Adults and Children Herbert Nieburg & Arlene Fischer, Harper & Row, 1982.
When Your Pet Dies: How to Cope With Your Feelings Jamie Quackenbuch & Denise Graveline, Simon & Schuster, 1985.
Should the Children Know? Marguerita Rudolph, Schocken Books, 1978.
The Tenth Good Thing About Barney* Judith Viorst, Atheneum, 1975.
Charlotte's Web* E.B. White, Harper & Row, 1952.
I'll Always Love You* Hans Wilhelm, Crown, 1985.

*Denotes books recommended for children.