Halloween Safety

Safety Tips

• Don't leave your pet out in the yard on Halloween: there are plenty of stories of vicious pranksters who have teased, injured, stolen, even killed pets on this night.
• Keep your outdoor cats inside several days before and several days after Halloween. Black cats may be at risk from children's pranks or other cruelty-related incidents. Many shelters do not adopt out black cats on Halloween as a safety precaution.
• Trick-or-treat candies are not for pets: chocolate is poisonous to a lot of animals, and tin foil and cellophane candy wrappers can be hazardous if swallowed.
• Be careful of pets around a lit pumpkin: pets may knock it over and cause a fire. Curious kittens especially run the risk of getting burned.
• Don't dress the dog or cat in costume unless you know he or she loves it. Otherwise, it puts too much stress on the animal.
• If you do dress up your pet, make sure the costume isn't annoying or unsafe; it should not constrict his or her movement, hearing, or ability to breathe or bark. Also, there should not be small, dangling, or easily chewed-off pieces on the costume that your pet could choke on.
• Be careful not to obstruct your pet's vision; even the sweetest animal can get snappy when he or she can't see.
• All but the most social dogs and cats should be kept in a separate room during trick-or-treat visiting hours; too many strangers in strange garb can be scary for a dog or cat.
• When opening the door for trick-or-treaters, be very careful your cat or dog doesn't dart outside.
• Make sure your dog or cat is wearing proper identification. If for any reason they escape and become lost, you increase the chances that they will be returned to you.