BEND, OR -- This Thanksgiving, it might seem like you're leaving your pet out of the festivities if they don't share the feast from your table, but Lynne Ouchida of the Humane Society says pets aren't used to the kinds of rich foods we love on Thanksgiving, and feeding them what you're eating could actually be dangerous. "If you want to indulge, give them some lean meat and some vegetables, if they like that, but overfeeding an animal can definitely cause some gastroenteritis, and in a severe form of eating too much or too much rich food, you can get serious cases of pancreatitis."

 
Ouchida suggests wrapping turkey bones in a separate container and taking trash outside to keep it away from your animals. She says a lot of people just throw out the string used on a turkey during cooking and don't give it a second thought. "Dogs see the world through their nose, and they don't realize that yummy smelling string is potentially something that could get tied up in their intestinal tract."

She says it's important to pay attention to anything your pet does that's out of the ordinary. "If you see any changes in your pet and you know that they got into some food, definitely give your veterinarian a call, have emergency clinic numbers on hand, those types of issues can actually be really, really life threatening for some animals."
 

Pets can also get out easily, Ouchida says, with guests coming and going, so make sure they have a microchip and ID, so they can be easily returned to your home.