Holi is a festival of colours but for a pet, the colours that signify joy might mean trouble and may cause serious health problems. These views were expressed by Dr Kirti Dua, Professor, Veterinary Medicine, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary & Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana. He revealed that generally it is considered that the use of dry colours are harmless for the dogs. But many a times manufacturers mix harmful chemicals in these colours e.g green colour is obtained from copper sulphate and malachite green, purple is obtained from chromium iodide, blue colour from prussion blue, black is obtained from lead oxide, red is obtained from mercury sulphite and silver is obtained from aluminum bromide. Oxidised metals or industrial dyes mixed with the solvent are very often used in darker and long lasting colors. All these chemicals present in the colours may act as accumulative poison and can cause skin and eye allergies, respiratory distress and many sort of toxicities in the pet animals. Many a times, dogs tend to lick their body, and the taste of dry colours makes them prone to throwing up. Throwing water filled balloons on the dogs can also cause eye injuries.
Dr. Kirti Dua said that the general precaution which the pet owners can take is to keep the pet away from children who tend to throw water balloons at the pet. If the of signs like: excessive salivation, vomiting, loose motions, behavioural changes like aggression or stupor are observed in the pets it may be symptoms of poisoning. In that case consult the nearest veterinarian. After Holi, do not use detergent, kerosene, spirit, nail polish remover, alcohol or acetone to try and remove the colours. These are strong irritants and tend to break down the protective skin barrier. Use normal bathing soap and moisturise the skin well. People must realize that the colours have been added to Holi to make the festival more joyous and enjoyable and not to cause inconvenience to pets and stray dogs.
