Tips on Avoiding Common Physical Hazards

The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) announced that they managed more than 116,000 calls to its Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) hotline in 2006, several of which pertained to common household items.

While not necessarily all toxic, items in this group consists of objects that could pose a choking hazard, risk for intestinal obstruction, or other physical injury, and in 2006, the number of physical hazard calls grew a staggering 460 percent to over 3,800.

"We've managed cases involving the ingestion of several common objects-from pet collars and adhesive tape to bones, paper products and other similar items," says Dr. Hansen. "It is important to make sure that items which could be easily knocked over, broken, chewed up or swallowed are kept out of the reach of curious pets."