We all love to indulge around the holidays, especially when it comes to food. Unfortunately, tossing your pet table scraps as a “treat” can cause unnecessary upset to their digestive system. Read our recommendations before including fido or fluffy at the dinner table this year. Your pet’s tummy will thank you!

The gastrointestinal system is very important in overall health. It is not only necessary for the nourishment of the body, but is also critical for keeping the body hydrated, presenting antigens to the rest of the body, maintaining balance in intestinal bacteria and elimination of the unusable substances ingested.

Taking your dog or cat to their vet appointment can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you don’t know what to expect. Here are some helpful questions we suggest you ask at your next appointment:

While there is far more research performed for the benefit of humans than for pets, we know that much of the initial research into human disease and pharmaceuticals is performed using animals; therefore, we learn about them as a side effect.

In the veterinary field, many of the therapeutics we use to treat disease come from human medicine, at least initially. The treatment of cancer is no exception, and in fact, some cancer treatments derived from human medicine have worked well for animals. Others, however, have not.

Hippocrates said, “Let medicine be your food and food be your medicine.”

Food therapy is the practice of using different foods and herbs to treat pets based on genetic tendencies, age, species, environment, personality, stress level and disease patterns.