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While surfing the internet, I stumbled upon an article about keeping your furry friends safe around the holidays. As we are gearing up for the holiday season, decorating the house and gathering with the family, we may overlook certain things that could put our pets in danger. Therefore, here are few tips to keep in mind to keep your pet safe during this holiday season:

1. Keep ornaments and decorations out of reach. Ornaments and decorations look like play toys to dogs and cats that can be extremely hazardous to there health. Be sure to keep tree ornaments away from the bottom of your Christmas tree. Also, try to keep holiday decorations out of reach from your pets, as best as possible.

2. Tape down your electrical cords. Taping down electrical cords can reduce the risk that your pet will chew the cords and get electrocuted! Also, your pet is less likely to pull your decorations down if the cord is taped down.

3. Be careful with fire. When lighting menorahs or candles around your home, or even curling up to a warm and cozy fire by your fireplace (if your so luck y to have one!), be conscious of your pets whereabouts! Also, when leaving your home, be sure not to leave any fires burning!

4. Watch for toxic foods. We all like to indulge around the holidays; however, we need to be conscious of scraps that may be in reach of our pets that can be toxic to their health. Some toxic foods include macadamia nuts, alcohol, chocolate, raisins, and many other common holiday foods. Also, watch out for chicken or turkey bones which can splinter and cause your pet to choke. Keeping your furry friends occupied with their own healthy treats is a great distraction to keep them from searching for fallen scraps!

5. Monitor the Christmas tree water. If your dog or cat begins drinking out of the Christmas tree stand, they could ingest dangerous bacteria or plant food which could be hazardous to their health. Make sure to keep an eye on your pet’s activity around the Christmas tree!

6. Keep dangerous plants out of reach. Lilies, holly, and mistletoe are all highly toxic to animals and may cause kidney failure. Even poinsettias can cause stomach irritation. So don’t take any chances and make sure to keep these holiday favorites out of reach!

7. Don't let your pet into the gift wrapping supplies! I know Bella is always curious when I cam wrapping gifts for my family and friends. It is extremely important to keep wrapping supplies such as string, yarn, ribbons, and tinsel out of reach as these can all cause choking or strangulation. Keeping extra dog or cat toys around can never hurt to keep your little ones occupied!

8. Educate your guests. While spending time with your friends and family this holiday season, it is a good idea to remind them of the potentially hazardous foods and behavior that could hurt your furry friends. Not everyone has their own pets or knows the appropriate precautions to take when in the presence of dogs or cats. Keeping your guests informed and aware can avoid a very scary trip to the vet for an emergency visit!

9. Make sure your pet has "down time." Our pets are just as excited as us to see everyone around the holidays! While many pets are extremely social, others can get anxious or nervous around the crowds. It is important to make sure your little ones have access to quiet area to rest and hide from the commotion!

Click here to view the original article - - > How to Keep Your Pet Safe During the Holidays

Wow I am stuffed. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! There are alot of things that we should be thankful for. Here at Bella's Sparkle we are thankful for our family, friends, and of course our pets!!

During the holidays, we have put together some promotions to enable you to get your little friends the gifts they want for the holiday season! First, we are happy to annouce our new spa products section.  In addition, we have a great offer going from now until the end of December, use coupon code HOLIDAY and receive 10% off your entire order!

We have a lot of exciting updates in the pipeline, stay tuned! 

President-elect Obama promised his daughters a puppy if he won the election. Cast your vote here for the First Dog to be!

Also, check out this great article, The Internet goes to the Dogs! It discusses the internet frenzy that went down as soon as Obama won the Presidential Election, not over the hope for economic change, but the excitement of who will be the First Puppy in the White House!!!

So I received an email today asking me to click on this Animal Rescue site to help raise donations for abused and neglected animals. I figured I could get all of you readers involved as well. It doesn't cost you a thing and it only takes a few seconds to do. All you have to do is click on this link to go to The Animal Rescue Site. When you get to the site, click on the purple button that says "Click here to give - It's free!" The site's corporate sponsors and advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned and neglected animals in exchange for advertising.

Here's the web site! The Animal Rescue Site

Tell all your friends to click too!! It's a great cause!!

We are doing some baby sitting while mommy is away on a business trip. Bella has been attached to mommy's bath robe for a while now all curled up and waiting for her to get back.

So while listening to Z100 we heard some news about six Shiba Inu pups that are currently being streamed live over the Internet! They are just sooo cute:

Webcam chat at Ustream

For more information about these adorable little ones see the information below:

Sometimes you find some truely amazing things while surfing this large network we call the World Wide Web! I came across this article about an amazing Border Collie named Zip - a completely blind dog that seems to have no problem living life to its fullest!

Not sure why he did not win the contest that they reference, but he sure did put a smile on my face!

We would like to wish all you dogs and dog-lovers a happy and safe halloween!! Have fun trick or treating, I know we will!!

Please share your Howl-o-ween pics with us!! Here's some cute shots of Bella in her fairy costume!!

XOXO Bella & Kristin

So what is everyone doing for Halloween?!?! I really think we need some sort of pet bash with pet Halloween contests and the whole shebang!! I still don't know what I am going to dress up as... but we know Bella will be sporting the fairy dress!

We will be sure to post some good pictures of our fearless leader all decked out in her Halloween costume!!

                                                 Live simply. 
                                             Love generously. 
                                                Care deeply. 
                                                Speak kindly. 

              Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.