Friday was such a beautiful day and I was quiet excited when my peep said we were invited to visit a garden over at the Horniman Museum. All I could think while I was on the train and then on the bus was how lovely it will be to sniff a few flowers and maybe snack on a few tender blades of grass.
When we arrived I couldn’t believe where we were heading, and I don’t mean up the garden path either. We headed right to the poisonous pawtanical garden! And the very first thing I saw was a huge sign that read “leave your dog here” and that wasn’t the only sign, there were signs all over the place; your classic no dogs allow signs, a dog bone crosses telling you to stay away, and a super large sign on the fence that told you to stay out!
Now your probably wondering why on earth my peep would take me to a place like this on a sunny day, and if you didn’t I sure did. This place was no place for a dog or cat there was potential danger everywhere… but oh it looked so nice, I really did want to sniff around and have a taste. Wait, that was the point! We were here to understand what could be harmful to your pet in your garden.
The truth is this little garden looked gorgeous, and I knew my peep thought it was stunning, however she also knew that for cats and dogs, it’s a certified death trap.
Now who on earth would make the world’s most dangerous garden to pets? Well it was our friends for MORE TH>N who are trying to raise awareness of the dangers of pets being poisoned by common plants and flowers. In fact they did it for two major reasons:
They are campaigning on getting plant producers and manufacturers of garden products to urgently provide clear labelling to show if their items are safe or harmful to pets. To raise awareness of the dangers as we come into the warmer months when pets are likely to spend more time outdoors.It’s important to know that even thought these variety of plants and flowers may look beautiful in your garden, if ingested by cats and dogs they can at best get an upset tummy and at worst lead to death.
Each year thousands of pets are needlessly poisoned from eating toxic plants found in their gardens and homes.
Toxic Plants To Pets
If your looking for a complete list of toxic plants that could be poisonous to your dog or cat, Dog’s trust has an excellent list that is printable.
What to do if you think your pet ingested a dangerous plant
Contact your vet immediately Take along samples of the plant or flower to the vet. If you have the label that came with the plant would be a great asset.Support The Pet Safe Plant Campaign
Sign up to the petition to encourage plant producers to add a “Pet Friendly” mark for plants, flowers, seeds and other garden products to help dog and cat owners keep their pets safe. You can visit the campaign link here.
You can also let everyone know by sending a tweet to @MORETHAN using the hashtag #safeseeds
I have to say I really learned a lot about plants and flowers that could be harmful to me or my fellow dogs and cats. However I’m not alone in fact one in three pet owners (31%) admit they have no idea if the plants and flowers in their gardens are toxic to pets.
Is your garden safe for your pet?
