My dog Gussie is a power chewer. She destroys the playthings I get for her, gnawing plastic bones down to nubs and gutting plush toys. I hadnt given much thought to whether she was ingesting particles from these toys until I began to spot little pieces of plastic in her poop .

We know we should be concerned about plastics: Research shows that its production and disposal are making climate change worse , and that it can be devastating to wildlife and might be bad for our health .

Since a lot of pet toys are made out of plastic, should we also be worried about plastic and our pets?

It can be difficult to refrain from buying our pets shiny new gifts. Pet toys are a $1 billion industry (sheesh!), and research reinforces the idea that pet parents treat their four-legged friends as they would a human child. Some parents take extra care to research kids toys before buying them; doing the same for your dog or cat cant hurt.

When it comes to plastic and pet health, there arent many straightforward answers. But arming yourself with information about the materials in a toy and knowing how rough your pet may get with it are important things to consider before you buy.