You would be amazed at the variety of threats to your pet's health that can be found in a typical household. You parents of young children can relate to this.

Animals (except monkeys) lack opposing thumbs, so their mouths serve as their tool of investigation. You have probably heard of children swallowing marbles and coins. Well, in addition to these, I've known dogs and cats to swallow steel-wool pads, Swiss-army knives (closed), mango pits, underwear, socks, nylon stockings, shoes, shower curtains, rags, towels, bedding, door jambs, drywall, all sorts of trash — and the list goes on.

A common classic is dental floss, and needle and thread; these cause an accordion-like blockage in the intestines. Cats generally require abdominal surgery for this. I actually had a large boxer pass the thread all through his gastrointestinal tract, to where it was dangling out of his anus, only to have the sewing needle that it was attached to get wedged in the rectum sideways. Ouch.

But all's well that ends well. We were able to manually remove the needle, with the dog under mild sedation.

Please store all sharp objects away from your pet's reach; e.g., kitchen utensils, scissors and razor blades. My 9-month-old yellow Labrador retriever ate a multi-bladed plastic shaving razor from the rim of the bathtub. That surgery was neither fun nor short, and, of course, it occurred in the evening, so the event had to be treated as an emergency. Cats are usually pickier than dogs about what they put in their mouths, but because their intestinal loops are smaller, almost anything seems to get stuck. Also, because they are generally smaller than dogs, anything toxic affects them more adversely.

Electric cords, your prescription medications, a box of chocolates from your sweetheart — all can be a threat to your pet. And don't think that just because an item is on the counter, it's safe: My cats can knock 10 pounds of dog food off the counter so that all can share. I think it's a conspiracy.