I realize that most of you who read this blog are old-hands at the care and protection of household creatures.

You know how to keep your pets safe and you don’t need my advice, or the sage wisdom of the veterinarians and animal experts, to tell you what will help you avoid a trip to the emergency vet this holiday season.

For instance, you all know you should be careful with the upcoming holiday feasts, which provides all kinds of temptations for treat-seeking pets. Turkey bones are very dangerous for dogs because they splinter easily and ham can cause a seriously upset tummy (and potentially toxic pancreatic condition) in dogs.

And I am sure you are well aware that your pooch, with his big, sad, pleading puppy dog eyes, could mooch an entire feast off your guests if you don’t ask them not to slip him a bunch of table scraps. And that if he does indulge in too much rich, intended-for-people-only tidbits, you could end up cleaning more than just the dishes.

As you go about decking your halls, you certainly don’t need me to warn you that poinsettias can be toxic if your furry friend would happen to chow down on the whole plant (a nibble here or there is nothing to worry about unless your pet is very small, so don’t avoid the lovely Mexican plants altogether.)

By now you’ve heard a million times how tinsel can be deadly to pets if they eat it, and it’s a huge temptation for curious kitties to play with, so it could result in a toppled Christmas tree. Same rule applies to ribbon. Besides being a shredding temptation, if ingested it can get all tangled up in a pet’s gut and require some very expensive and dangerous surgery to unwrap.

And I am sure you think, “Thanks, but yeah, duh!,” every time some do-gooder on a morning news show or newspaper blog  reminds you to keep decorations and extension cords out of the mouths of teething pups and other gnawing household critters.

You are professional pet parent and you don’t need me to go over all this stuff YET AGAIN, every single freakin’ holiday.

But just in case you are a new pet parent and didn’t know all this stuff already, well, here you go.

You’re welcome.