By Tommy Osborne/Greg Fry

Pet safety

Protect your pets against holiday hazards warns SPCA

Dec 25, 2025 | 9:00 AM

PRINCE GEORGE — With the holiday season upon us, the BC SPCA is reminding pet owners to create a safe environment for their furry companions.

“Things that are string like tinsel, ribbons, cords, those can become really dangerous foreign bodies really quickly. They can get into the intestines and cause a lot of problems. It could be life threatening,” says Emma Hamil, acting regional manager – sheltering, Cariboo North.

Hamil says if this happens to your pet, you must get to a vet immediately or risk having to pay for a costly surgery.

“I’ve seen it range from 5 to 10,000 for a foreign body. It can be quite expensive. But again, those surgeries are serious, and the condition of a foreign body is serious and can cause death in really difficult cases.”

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To avoid this kind of holiday nightmare, Hamil says it’s important to know what your pet is up to and make your home pet-safe. She says that includes ensuring they don’t get into holiday food that could be harmful to them.

“That can look like, you know, chocolate bones, yeast dough, onions, raisins, grapes, alcohol. These are all things that we are ingesting ourselves during the holidays, but can be really dangerous for our pets.”

She says another tip to consider is creating a safe space for pets to retreat to if you have guests in your house. That includes staying informed on animal body language and reminding guests to respect your pet’s boundaries.