Black cat Friday at Dakin

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Mass Appeal) - It's the holidays and we want our pets to be happy and healthy. We might even be considering giving the pet as a guest. You're in luck. Marni Edelhart tells you how you can do both of these things.

Bebe he is a medium hair cat. He's black except on the back of his ears he has white speckles which gives him sort of unique character. He's playful and social and cuddly. He's purring right now.

Most people on black Friday are in line at stores at 5:00 in the morning waiting to get trampled for tvs and computers. At Dakin, we're having black cat Friday. If you come in and adopt a black cat over a year old, you get entered in a raffle for a $50 gift certificate to the Holyoke mall.

They are all black cats. It can be an all black cat, black and white cat. As long as the cat is mostly or even partly black and they are over a year old, do the adoption and you get entered in the raffle.

Currently, we do seem to have a lot of black cats who are being passed over. We think it's because they are so dark that people don't notice them compared to some of the brighter-colored cats. They are just as wonderful and very beautiful once you get them out of their cages.

When it comes to the holidays, we have always want to make sure we keep our pets safe, keep them healthy.

The best thing is to watch what the animals are eating. That's not just food items. That is where we can start. Be careful you're not feeding your pets food from the table. The Thanksgiving food is going to smell really good to them. Poultry bones are dangerous and undercooked meat are unsafe and some spices. Chocolate and raisins are actually toxic.

No chocolate for your dog and raisins are toxic for them and grapes. We want to be careful about the food. But in addition to that, we decorate our homes this time of year with some things that are very unsafe for our pets.

There are poinsettia, holly, mistle toe. You don't want your pet eating those because it could upset their system.

They find tinsel and ribbon and they look fun to play with and fun to eat. They can cause problems for the digestive system. Not good.

Poinsettias, mistle toe and holly. Those are the ones you want to be really careful about, making sure your pets aren't getting access to them.

They can cause kidney distress. They can cause digestive distress. The last thing anyone wants on Thanksgiving is to spend the day in an emergency room, whether humans or animals.

Black Friday at Dakin
Friday, November 26, 2010
Noon - 5:30 p.m.
Springfield or Leverett locations.

For more information visit dpvhs.org .