Hello, everyone. I hope everyone got really nice Valentine’s presents this year. My mom got something that she’s been wanting for as long as I’ve known her; an avocado tree. She said it’s better than diamonds or gold, but I have a feeling some women might disagree with that. She is so proud of her tree. She sat all day just looking at it, dreaming of where she would plant it and the hundreds and hundreds of avocado that she’ll be giving away. She had over 300 lemons on her lemon tree this year so her green thumb might produce as many avocados. Then Dad asked the one question that pretty much changed her whole mood. “Honey, are avocado plants bad for dogs?” Uh oh.
Mom jumped up and got to her computer and found some startling news. She decided she thought she should share it with you in case other women were lucky enough to get an avocado tree for Valentine’s day instead of a nice diamond necklace. In the event there were maybe one or two women out there, I decided to tell you everything I found out about the avocado tree.
Turns out, luckily, that for dogs, the main danger with avocado is playing with them and eating the seed. The seed is large enough to cause serious blockage if swallowed. The avocado contains a substance called persin. Some animals have different reactions to this sometimes very dangerous toxin. Rabbits, horses, and goats have a low tolerance to this toxin and it can create cardiac arrest. In dogs, cats, and ferrets, there doesn’t seem to be any real dangers, other than the seeds. Some avocado plants have a stronger amount of persin than other plants.
The real danger is to the birds. Birds aren’t smart enough to stay away from this tree and they suffer the most from this toxin. Mom says that while the tree is growing and there are no avocados on it, the birds will leave it alone. She plans to put fishing line on top of the tree to try and protect the birds as much as she can. Sebastian has a serious dislike to Blue Jays because they dive bomb him in the spring so he may serve as their best friend to keep them away from the tree, too.
As for Dad, since we’re not really sure that he reads this column every single week, we’re going to tell him that it looks like maybe a diamond necklace would have been a better choice after all.
Folks, there are so many normal plants that you will find in your back yards that can be quite dangerous and deadly to dogs and cats. It would scare you to know that normal plants, such as ferns, buttercup, ivy, azalia, and even some pine trees can cause serious and toxic reaction to your pets. I have found a great website that I want to share with you that gives you a complete list of plants and trees that are dangerous to your pets. Please look at this list. Mom was surprised at how many of them she had in her yard. The website is www.aspca.org. They have so much information regarding how you can protect your pets against daily home dangers.
In the meantime, stop by and help Mom watch her avocado tree grow. She’ll tell you all about when to expect her first crop and how much fun it will be to pick them. Who knows, she may also show you her nice little diamond necklace, too.
Have a great week, everyone.

Mango, a rescued pet, is the inspiration for this column by Debi Laibe. Send any questions or comments to
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