Did you know?
We are about to make the plunge into the holiday season starting with the spooky and candy laden festivities of Halloween. Holidays are fun and offer great memory making moments and fun picture opportunities. They also can pose some safety challenges that aren't normally on your radar. For the sake of safety, and to help ensure a "spooktakular" celebration, I've put together a few tips for keeping your four legged friends safe and healthy on Halloween.
Costumes
There are some fabulous Halloween costumes available for pets and some kid costumes can be adapted to fit your furry "children". When choosing a costume keep the following in mind:
- tie or remove any strings that could be eaten
- keep your animal with you while the costume is on to decrease the chance of ingestion or strangulation
- look for Velcro closures around the neck that can be easily removed
- make sure your pet won't trip on a cape or hanging piece of material
- not all animals find costumes enjoyable - take the costume off if your pet seems anxious or keeps pawing at the costume to get it off.
Food
Halloween is all about the loot. Make sure you have some pet appropriate treats around for the evening and watch out for the following:
- No matter how much "Lucky" begs don't give in to those pathetic eyes and feed him chocolate or raisins, or the double whammy, chocolate covered raisins. See my previous posts on these two food items for the potential toxic results for animals.
- Keep the "loot" bags out of reach of your pet. If "Lucky" decides to devour the bag the wrappers can become stuck in the esophagus or intestines and cause problems. Call your Veterinarian if your pet chooses a night of dietary indescretion.
General Safety
- Do you have a black cat? It's best to keep kitty inside for the night.
- If your pet gets over stimulated by the doorbell consider placing a sign at the front door asking trick-or-treaters to knock; or talk with your family vet about a mild sedative for the evening.
- Place jack-o-lanterns in a safe place where they won't get knocked over by your pet or set a tail on fire.
- Have a designated quiet room for your pets where they can feel safe if you have a party in your home.
By the way, if you are a client of the VRCC, post your Halloween pet pictures on our Facebook page!
Have a safe and happy "Howl"oween!
Updated 11/01/2009
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