The following safety tips from the Animal Welfare Society will help to ensure a safe and fulfilling Thanksgiving for you and your pets:

• Giving your pets a little nibble of turkey is okay, just be sure that it’s boneless and fully cooked. Raw or undercooked turkey may contain salmonella bacteria, and dogs can choke on bones,

which splinter easily.

• While the humans are chowing down, give your cat and dog their own little feast. Stuff their usual dinner – with a few added bits of turkey, dribbles of gravy or vegetables like sweet potato and green beans-inside a Kong toy. They’ll be happily occupied trying to get their meal out, and way too busy to come begging for table scraps.

• Sage makes stuffing taste delicious, but sage also contains essential oils and resins that can cause pets to suffer stomach upset and possible depression of the central nervous system.

• According to veterinarians at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, when bread dough is ingested, an animal’s body heat causes the dough to rise in the stomach. As alcohol is produced during the rising process, the dough expands. Pets who’ve eaten bread dough may experience abdominal pain, bloat, vomiting, disorientation

and depression.

If you are concerned about food that your pet has indigested, you may call the emergency hotline 24 hours a day at (888) 426-4435.