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Halloween pet safety tips - the six C’s
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Scarf is a pumpkin and needs a home! (Photo - HWAC)
Halloween, a favorite holiday for many of us, can bedevil our pets.
Check out the following “six C’s” of Halloween pet safety, including expert tips from the folks at Helen Woodward Animal Center, who said, “We want the only thing your dog or cat to suffer this Halloween is the indignity of wearing a silly costume.”
Costumes
Make sure any costume you put on your pet:
. Fits properly
. Does not obstruct sight, hearing, or breathing
. Has no small pieces that could be broken off and swallowed
NEVER leave a costumed pet unattended, even for a minute.
Candy
. Keep all candy and candy wrappers well out of paw’s reach.
. Even a small amount of chocolate can be fatal to a dog or cat. (But all candies and wrappers are dangerous.)
Candles
. Keep pets away from burning candles, including those placed inside jack-o-lanterns. “Pets are not flame retardant,” as HWAC puts it, “and can get seriously burned.”
Crazy scared
Dogs might be spooked or panicked by people’ costumes and the general brouhaha of Halloween festivities. “They could bite young (or old) goblins at the door,” HWAC reminds us.
“They may also become fearful and run away. While cats are most at risk, all pet owners should keep their animals indoors in a quiet room to prevent them from being frightened by loud noises or accidentally running off when the front door is opened."
Cruelty
Halloween seems to bring the kooks out of the woodwork, lying in wait to kidnap pets and inflict any number of cruelties upon them.
“Each year, animal shelters across the country are flooded with calls immediately before or after Halloween from pet owners whose cats and dogs have been injured or have disappeared,” HWAC reports.
Don’t let this happen to your furry friend. Keep him or her under careful supervision.
Change
This weekend's daylight saving time change "can be confusing for your pets,” warns HWAC. “People understand what’s going on. Pets just know that their dinner is late. Be patient while they adjust."
San Diego Dogs Examiner and Helen Woodward Animal Center wish you and your pets a safe (but scary!) and happy Halloween!
For more info on safety, or to adopt Scarf (photo above) and many other available best friends, visit:
Helen Woodward Animal Center
6461 El Apajo Road in Rancho Santa Fe
Tel. (858) 756-4117
A lifelong dog addict and rescuer, Katerina (a.k.a. Kathryn Makris) wrote Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know about Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press, 2007) with coauthor Shelley Frost. Katerina's other credits include seventeen novels, numerous newspaper and 
magazine articles, and a CBS teleplay.
Email Katerina at youradopteddog@yahoo.com, and visit her and Shelley at www.youradopteddog.com
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