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The Holidays are often a time of year that new pets are added to the household. A few things should be kept in mind once the decision has been made to adopt a puppy or kitten. They are often coming from situations in which they are housed with a large number of other pets, e.g. a pet store or animal shelter. They are often exposed to contagious diseases at a time that their immune system is not mature, and while they are under stress of being transported and weaned from their mothers, which predisposes them to acquire infectious diseases. Often the introduction to a new household is not a smooth one, and commonly young pets may become ill shortly after adoption with a variety of diseases including kennel cough, intestinal parasites, and parvo for puppies, and upper respiratory infections and parasites for kittens. It is important to have the new pet checked by your veterinarian soon after adoption, at which time you can discuss a vaccination schedule, deworming and diet recommendations. Vaccines can prevent life-threatening illnesses in our pets, including parvo, distemper and feline panleukopenia. If possible, find out what food the puppy or kitten has been eating as diet changes can cause gastrointestinal upset, and any diet change should be made gradually. If there are already pets in the household, it would be advisable to have at least a few days of quarantine to make sure the puppy is not coming down with an infectious disease prior to introduction to the rest of the pets. If there are young children in the household they should be supervised initially when contacting the puppy or kitten, partially to make sure of the pet’s disposition and partially to make sure the children understand proper handling of the pet, to minimize the chance of injuries to both be ideal to emphasize with children that feeding table children and pets. Also with all the rich foods in the environment around the holidays, it would scraps and treats to the puppy or kitten might make the pet ill. Pet health insurance is a great idea for young animals! Although dogs tend to tolerate aspirin and Tylenol well, especially for short term, Advil, Aleve and other human anti-inflammatories are generally NOT well tolerated by dogs. In cats, acetaminophen (commonly known as Tylenol) is toxic and can be fatal.