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Enjoy Easter, but be cautious with your pets

Spring is here. The season brings warm weather, sunny days and Easter. There's something special about a new Easter outfit and posing for an Easter family photograph outside. Our family, including our dog Happy, a 50-pound collie/shepherd mix, always posed on the front steps or in front of the tree on the boulevard. Happy, who lived to be 16, was always moving. But he did settle down long enough to have his picture taken on holidays, especially when it was taken outside, on Easter. When our photo sessions were completed, we all went back into the house, another Easter part of our family history.

Easter is a gentle holiday, filled with colored eggs, jelly beans chocolate bunnies and Easter egg hunts. Rebecca Simmons of the Companion Animals section of The Humane Society of the United States offers five tips for keeping our animals safe during the Easter holiday weekend.

• Some popular plants, including Easter lilies, are highly toxic to pets and can easily prove fatal if eaten.

• Resist impulse pet purchases. Bunnies and chicks are adorable, but resist the urge to adopt or buy any pet on impulse. Stephanie Shain, outreach director for the companion animals section of The HSUS notes, "People often forget that these cute little animals grow up into adult animals who require a commitment to provide daily care for the rest of lives. Bringing any animal, including small animals like rabbits and chicks, into your home places demands on your time and financial resources and should be done only after carefully assessing your family's ability to meet the animal's needs."

With bunnies being the third most relinquished pet, following dogs and cats, consumers need to be informed about not giving bunnies as Easter pets. This information is available from the Make Mine Chocolate campaign. The goal of the campaign, started by the Columbus, Ohio, chapter of House Rabbit Society, is to help reduce the large numbers of rabbits who are relinquished by their owners, particularly in the weeks and months following Easter.

• Easter basket decorations, including plastic grass, can be dangerous to animals if ingested. The grass can become twisted within a pet's intestines and can be fatal if not caught quickly enough. Also, plastic eggs, candy wrappers and small toy parts can pose a danger to our companion animals.

• Peace can be nice on Easter. Loud noises, erratic movements from children and crowds of people can be stressful for animals. If your companion animal isn't up for the chaos of an Easter egg hunt or a family dinner, put him in a quiet area of the house when you have guests.

• Keep your pets out of the Easter basket. Candy can be harmful to our companion animals, with chocolate being toxic to dogs and cats.

Enjoy the arrival of spring and the Easter holiday. Have you seen those bunny ears for dogs? Get your phone or digital camera, head outside and record some family memories.

Adoptables

Jackie is a 1-year-old female shepherd/beagle mix. She loves people; she needs a little time to get comfortable but once she does you will know it. Jackie would need to be in a one-dog household.

Wally is a male Chihuahua mix. The vet says he's 4 years old and he weighs around 15 pounds.

Wally
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