Halloween is fast approaching! I love Halloween because it’s so much fun to decorate our house inside and out with spooky lights and decorations. My kids especially love it because they get to dress up in funny or scary costumes and go out and get as much candy as they can while trick or treating.
Contributed photo
Dressing up is fun as long as your pet enjoys it and the costume is safe. Pet owners need to make sure a costume doesn’t interfere with the ability to breathe, see, hear, move or bark.
While Halloween can be fun and festive for people, especially children, it can be a dangerous and stressful time for your pets. Halloween masks and costumes can be disorienting and frightening to pets. Extra caution should be taken to protect your pets from Halloween hazards.
The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) offers the following tips to help pet owners avoid potential hazards as they celebrate Halloween this October.
1. No tricks, no treats: That bowlful of candy is for trick-or-treaters, not for Scruffy and Fluffy. Chocolate in all forms can be very dangerous for dogs and cats, and tin foil and cellophane candy wrappers can be hazardous if swallowed. If you suspect your pet has ingested a potentially dangerous substance, please call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.
2. Popular Halloween plants such as pumpkins and decorative corn are considered to be relatively nontoxic, yet they can produce gastrointestinal upset should pets ingest them. Intestinal blockage could even occur if large pieces are ingested.
3. Keep wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your pet could experience damage to his mouth from shards of glass or plastic, or receive a possibly life-threatening electrical shock.
4. A carved pumpkin certainly is festive, but do exercise extreme caution if you choose to add a candle. Pets can easily knock a lit pumpkin over and cause a fire. Curious kittens especially run the risk of getting burned or singed by candle flames.
5. Dress-up can be a big mess-up for some pets. Please don’t put your dog or cat in a costume unless you know he or she loves it (yup, a few pets are real hams!). For pets that prefer their “birthday suits,” however, wearing a costume can cause undue stress.
6. If you do dress up your pet, make sure the costume isn’t annoying or unsafe. It should not constrict the animal’s movement or hearing, or impede his ability to breathe or bark. Keep a look out for small, dangling, or easily chewed-off pieces on the costume that your pet could choke on.
7. Take a closer look at your pet’s costume and make sure it does not obstruct her vision in any way. Even the sweetest animals can get snappy when they can’t see.
8. All but the most social dogs and cats should be kept in a separate room during peak trick-or-treat visiting hours. Too many strangers can be scary and stressful for pets.
9. When opening the door for trick-or-treaters, take care that your cat or dog doesn’t dart outside.
10. IDs, please! Always make sure your dog or cat has proper identification. If for any reason your pet escapes and become lost, a collar and tags and/or a microchip increase the chances that he or she will be returned to you.
Following a few simple tips will ensure that Halloween is happy and safe for the whole family.
Upcoming events for the shelter: We plan to host another microchip clinic in the very near future. Our cost per pet is only $15. This is a huge savings.
Tent Sale: CPR has moved the tent sale to the Valley Flea Market located on the Access Highway across from the Crown Park Inn. You might remember this as the first Caribou Agway building years ago. The Valley Flea Market will run all winter on Saturday. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12noon to 5pm. CPR will have tables utilizing an honor system with a donation box available for purchases.
We are currently setting up elementary education classes for this fall and early winter for grades K-3. Our pet care classes are scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday mornings and structured for the age of the students. If you would like to have CPR visit your classroom, please give us a call.
Returnable bottles: continue to spay/neuter many precious animals. The 88 Bennett Drive Redemption continues to pass on your donation as well as your wonderful comments. Thanks so much for your support.
Call 498-3800 for information or check out our pets at www.cariboupetrescue.petfinder.com Caribou Pet Rescue, 6 Richards Rd., PO Box 488, Caribou, ME 04736 Neuter and Spay – It’s the ONLY way
