Halloween is almost here and with it comes a night of costumes, candy, parties and a whole lot of fun! Please make sure to think about your pet and their safety this Halloween season, too.
Please do not feed candy and chocolate to your pets. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate and baking chocolate, is extremely toxic to most pets and can be fatal. Most sugar free candies on the market today have an ingredient called Xylitol, which is an artificial sweetener that is also toxic to animals. In addition, cellophane wrappers can give your pet an upset stomach resulting in vomiting/diarrhea. Make sure to keep your candy jar out of reach, including jumping reach, of your pet!
We know it is tempting to bring your pet with you while trick-or-treating, but your precious pets are safest indoors on Halloween. This helps keep them safe from Halloween pranks that can be cruel or misguided. Pets can be spooked by the increased number of people and costumes that they see, as well. While at home, we suggest keeping your pet in a secure and quiet room before trick-or-treaters arrive. A doorbell that continues to ring and a parade of spooky costumes can cause anxiety for your pet.
If your pet is quick enough to scoot out while you are handing out candy, hopefully they have been properly microchipped and have a collar with up-to-date tags. An interesting statistic from the AVMA shows that dogs without microchips are only reunited with their owners 21.9% of the time. Cats without microchips are only reunited with their owner 1.8% of the time. We will be happy to discuss microchips with you at your next visit.
Have a happy and safe Halloween!
