Keeping Your Pets Safe on Halloween

The Humane Society of recommends these tips during the spooky season…

• Keep your pets safely indoors, away from trick-or-treaters and other Halloween activities.
• Make sure that all of your pets are wearing tags with current ID. Opening the door repeatedly for trick-or-treaters creates plenty of escape opportunities.
• Keep candy out of your pets’ reach. While many pet owners know that chocolate can be bad for their animals, xylitol – a sweetener used in candy and gum - can be toxic to them too.
• Most pets are happiest wearing nothing but their birthday suit, but if you do choose a costume for your pet, forgo masks and make sure costumes are comfortable and do not pose a risk for injury.
• Decorations can be dangerous, so be sure to keep them safely away from pets. Candle flames can set fire to a pet’s fur. Hanging or dangling decorations can be an entanglement or choking hazard to some animals.
• Use fake cobwebs sparingly, if at all. Pets can choke on fake cobwebs set up indoors. Outdoors, fake webs may be a hazard to birds and wildlife.
• When going out trick-or-treating, leave your dog at home. Dogs can be easily excited by the Halloween commotion and a dog bite or lost dog will quickly end the evening’s fun.