sick.

Flickr/Muffet We recently wrote about the ASPCA's top 10 pet poisons of 2009. Included on the list were human foods that can make pets sick, including avocados. Little did we know that one little green fruit would inspire such a flurry of comments from people who argue that their dogs love the key guacamole ingredient. So we decided to set the record straight. According to the ASPCA, the avocado plant contains a substance called persin. "Different species of animals have different toxic reactions to avocados," said Dr. Tina Wismer, the senior director of veterinary outreach and education at the ASPCA. "Animals such as birds can develop respiratory distress, fluid build-up around the heart, ...

Handle me with care! Reggie35/Flickr Thinking about adopting a pet turtle? The shelled reptiles now come with a warning. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report found that 107 people became ill with salmonella in 2007 and 2008 after coming into contact with turtles, Yahoo News reports. Salmonella cases linked to turtles occurred in 34 states. Fortunately no one died from the illness, but a third of the infected people had to be hospitalized, according to Yahoo News. Most people associate salmonella infections with contaminated foods (like the tainted peanut butter that caused an outbreak last January). But many pet owners don't realize that the disease also ...