DURHAM -- The Best Friends Animal Society has issued tips for caring for pets on Halloween. It points out that children in costume coming to the door can intimidate pets and costumes and candy can be dangerous to pets.
Here are some tips the society offered:
- Keep track of your pet. With the door opening so many times for trick-or-treaters, pets can run out of the house in an instant.
- Candy can make your pet sick, and candy wrappers, if swallowed, can be harmful.
- Pets can be frightened by all the commotion and by Halloween costumes.
- Not all pets like to be dressed up. But if you do dress up your pet, make sure the costume allows for movement and that your pet can see, hear, walk, bark and breathe.
- Make sure your pet's costume is free of accessories that can be chewed off and/or swallowed.
- Keep pets away from jack-o'-lanterns because they can knock them over, causing a fire hazard. Plus pets are curious and can easily suffer a burn.
The society has created the Furry Frankenstein project -- materials that animal advocates can download and share to help spread the word about keeping pets home, happy and healthy on Halloween -- at http://network.bestfriends.org/campaigns/foreverhome/13415/news.aspx.
