Check Every Room for Pet Suffocation Risks!

Have you checked EVERY room in your home and yard for pet suffocation risks? ⁣Many pet owners know about the dangers of food bags in the kitchen, but few realize that every room has items that pose suffocation risks to your pets.⁣

⁣Think about…⁣

⁣👉🏼 The leftover snack bags in your bathroom trash can⁣

⁣👉🏼 The bag of chips in the basement⁣

⁣👉🏼 The candy wrappers in your child’s bedroom⁣

⁣👉🏼 The pet food bags in the garage⁣

⁣👉🏼 The popcorn bags in the game room⁣

⁣👉🏼 The snack bags left on the coffee table⁣

⁣👉🏼 The pretzel bags by the pool⁣

👉🏼 The almond packets in your guest’s luggage 

👉🏼 The fast food bags in your car 

⁣Being proactive to potential suffocation hazards is very important! This week, we encourage you to go through each room and the yard and focus on things that might endanger your pet. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find!⁣ 🐶🐱

Think your dog isn’t at risk of suffocation because they’re too big to suffocate in a chip bag, snack bag, or pet food bag? ⁣

⁣❌ Unfortunately, ALL pets are at risk of pet suffocation, no matter their size, breed, or age – from Dachshunds to Great Danes. Eliminating suffocation risks is an important task all pet owners should prioritize. No dog can win a fight with a chip bag or other food bag over his face or head once the bag seals and he starts to lose oxygen.

⁣So, what can you do?⁣

⁣Store your food bags away from your pet, cut up all bags before disposing of them, serve snacks in containers, and make sure that your trash can lids are sealed.⁣⁣

⁣⁣It’s simple household changes that can save the lives of your pets! 🐶🐱

Do you use a pet sitter or dog walker to help out with your pets when you are at work or out of town?⁣⁣⁣⁣

It’s very important to educate any helper that is in contact with your dogs or cats about the dangers of pet suffocation. In addition to spreading awareness to your family members and friends, pet professionals need to know suffocation risks, as well.

⁣They should…⁣

⁣🐶 Learn CPR for pets⁣

⁣🐱 Keep trash can lids tightly fastened at all times⁣

⁣🐶 Cut up all chip and food bags after use⁣

⁣🐱 Serve all snacks in bowls

🐶 Don’t keep food in their purse or backpack 

🐱 Keep pantry and closet doors closed⁣

Educate your sitters about pet suffocation, and you will have more peace of mind while you are away. Small changes can make a big difference when it comes to the safety of your pets!

🚨 Some important Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to preventing pet suffocation and keeping your furry family members safe!

One of the easiest and safest Do’s? Cut up all food bags at home before disposing of them. Too often, we lose pets to suffocation from these harmless looking food and snack bags. 

Please read the list and check it twice! 

Be vigilant and keep your house safe from pet suffocation risks!

We’d love for you to consider making a donation to Prevent Pet Suffocation to help us further our mission to prevent pet suffocation around the world. ❤️

⁣As a small nonprofit, we appreciate every single penny we receive. We’ll put your donation towards saving the lives of pets internationally, sparing pet owners from the devastation they’d feel from losing their best friend!⁣

No donation is too small, and it is greatly appreciated! ⁣You can safely donate on the Donate link on our website, our Facebook page, or click on this link: https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/PreventPetSuffocationInc/general

Other ways you can help support our cause at Prevent Pet Suffocation include:

⁣✔️ Selecting Prevent Pet Suffocation as your charity of choice on AmazonSmile.⁣

⁣✔️ Hosting a Facebook Birthday fundraiser⁣

⁣✔️ Sharing our social media content⁣

⁣✔️ Talking to family and friends about preventing pet suffocation

✔️ Taking our new pet suffocation survey on the Home page of our website

⁣Thank you to all who have supported us over the years and continue to do so! ❤️

Any and all help is always appreciated!

📝 We need your help!

Have you signed our petition to Frito Lay to add suffocation warning labels to their chip bags?

We have over 47,000 signatures! Please help us get to 50,000! Every signature counts! 

Chip bags are the biggest culprit for pet suffocation. Our Founder, Bonnie Harlan, is contacted weekly by distraught owners with tragic stories of their dogs suffocating in food bags, with chip bags being the most common. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣Too many dogs are dying needlessly. Please help us get warning labels put on Frito Lay chip bags and snack bags by signing this petition. The next dog saved may be your own!⁣⁣

⁣⁣To sign the petition, please click on the link at https://www.change.org/p/frito-lay-add-pet-suffocation-warning-labels-to-your-chip-bags. The petition is also posted on the Home page on our website. 👉🏼

How many chip bags, snack bags, pet food bags, and other food bags and containers do you have in your house right now?

Things like:

✔️ Potato chips ✔️ Pretzels ✔️ Popcorn ✔️ Cereal ✔️ Shredded Cheese ✔️ Peanut Butter ✔️ Yogurt ✔️ Pet Treats

All of these food bags and containers and many more can pose a life-threatening suffocation risk to your pets. And, most people have no idea!

 A lot of these bags are made from a strong mylar-like material (like a balloon) which helps keep snacks fresher. When a curious dog puts his head into the bag looking for leftover crumbs, the bag creates a vacuum-like seal around the dog’s neck.  As he tries to breathe, the bag tightens around his neck, cutting off the oxygen.  When a dog cannot remove the bag from his head, he will usually start to panic, desperately running around until he collapses and dies from asphyxiation, often losing his bowels, as well. This happens within minutes.

Food containers and jars can also be deadly for your pets. Cats and dogs can easily get their head stuck in one and unable to get out. Cut up all food bags and dispose of properly. Ensure containers and jars are not left open for a pet to get into. It just takes a few minutes to ensure your pet is safe at home from pet suffocation risks.

Cats are vulnerable to pet suffocation, too! We have lost several felines to chip bags and other food bags, but another danger for cats is getting trapped in containers or enclosed places, which is what happened to this beautiful kitten, Smoky, last fall when she suffocated in a pet litter container.

Lindsey Hodge writes, “Our beautiful seven-month-old kitten Smoky died when she climbed into a mostly full container of Purina Tidy Cat cat litter. This was a 35 pound yellow bucket with a hinged lid design. We are assuming our other cat jumped on it and it latched the lid and she suffocated to death. When I woke up in the morning I didn’t see Smoky, but I was rushing to get my son off to school and then go to volunteer at my quilting group. After my quilting group, I went looking for Smoky. I brought out some treats, but she didn’t come. I searched the house and called my neighbor who came over and helped me look for her. We opened every closet door, every drawer, turned the house upside down and still we did not find her. My husband was taking a large box of donations to Goodwill in the morning before work and we assumed she got out of the house when he moved the box outside to his truck. My neighbor and I begin driving around the neighborhood and alleys looking for Smoky. When we got back to my house I called my husband at work. He is a nurse manager of an ER at a local hospital. I told him to check the cameras to see if Smoky may have gotten out when he moved the box outside. He checked the camera footage, but didn’t see anything so he decided to leave work to come and help find her. It was he who opened the bucket of Purina Tidy Cat cat litter. He found her curled up like she was sleeping, but as soon as he touched her he knew she was dead. I just started screaming. My neighbor and I had walked by that bucket multiple times when we were searching the house for her, never once thinking to open the lid and check in there. It didn’t cross our minds that something like that could even happen or has happened before. This all happened when my elementary school child was getting out of school so when he came home to find his cat, his beautiful kitten dead and the house in shambles he was completely traumatized and horrified. That was his baby and her death left a huge hole in his heart. He struggled with grief and depression, as well as anxiety for months after this happened. 

Our family of animal lovers, animal rescuers, animal shelter and sanctuary volunteers is not the same happy family we once were. We are working through the grief and hurt and loss. We had never heard of or known the dangers of the hinged lid design bucket of cat litter or else we would not have bought the product. We went on CBS News to share our story. We have since found out there is no regulatory agency in the United States that keeps track of product designs that kill or harm pets. It’s impossible to know how often cats are killed in cat litter buckets, because there is no agency keeping track of this data. We are sharing our story to educate others.”

Prevent Pet Suffocation has documented several felines that have suffocated in a plastic bin or container. Cats are quick on their feet and their agility allows them to easily jump on countertops, tables, refrigerators, and other appliances where they have easier access to food bags and containers. ⁣Cats are also prone to hiding in enclosed and small places like bins, plastic containers, and washers and dryers. ⁣Please be aware!

Happy Labor Day Weekend! 

How will you be celebrating Labor Day this weekend? A barbecue? A cookout? S’mores around the campfire? Swimming? Watching some football? 🏈⁣💥🏊⁣⁣ 

⁣⁣⁣Hopefully, delicious food, snacks, and beverages are definitely on the menu! ⁣

⁣Yet, we still need to be vigilant with all snack bags, chip bags, marshmallow bags, hotdog buns bags, cookie bags, and other food bags around our pets, whether inside the house or outside in the yard. ⁣

⁣Amidst all the fun, it’s easy to miss seeing our pets get access to any of these bags or containers. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣All of those snack bags, chip bags, and other food bags can lead to pet suffocation.⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣So, let’s plan ahead! This year, make sure you’ve taken the necessary steps to protect your pets.⁣⁣

Have you ever seen your cat or dog with some type of bag over its head? A chip bag? A cereal bag? A pet food bag? A snack bag? A plastic bag? A grocery bag? Maybe your pet was trying to get the last of the food crumbs or hoping to find other savory snacks. 

Animals are naturally curious, and most aren’t afraid to go looking for something to snack on!

❌ However, most pet owners don’t know that these simple, common household items can pose a serious suffocation risk to their pets.⁣⁣

Both dogs and cats can suffocate within minutes if they get inside a chip bag, snack bag, pet food bag, or any type of plastic bag or container.  When a curious dog or cat puts his head into a food bag, the bag can create a vacuum-like seal around the dog’s neck.  As he tries to breathe, the bag tightens around his neck, cutting off the oxygen. This happens within minutes.

✔️ Please visit our Facebook page and website at www.preventpetsuffocation.com to learn quick and easy ways to keep your pets safe from pet suffocation. ⁣⁣When we work together, we can save the lives of even more pets! 🐶🐱