SPC Gives Halloween Tips For Your Pet's Safety

Dark Knight

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The SPCA encourages pet parents to take the following precautions to make sure their pet stays safe and healthy this Halloween.

• Identification. Make sure your pet is wearing a collar and identification tag and / or microchipped with current information. If they escape out an open door and become lost, this info is their ticket home.

• Leave your pet indoors. Avoid taking your pet trick or treating. Even the most well tempered dog may panic and become aggressive if a ghost or goblin jumps out of the bushes. Instead, keep your pet in a quiet room, away from the noise, excitement and strangers in costumes.

• Candy can kill. Chocolate can be toxic to your pets, especially dogs. Xylitol, the artificial sweetener found in some candy can be poisonous to dogs as well. Loose candy wrappers made of aluminum foil or cellophane can cause intestinal blockage and vomiting. Ask kids not to share their candy with pets.

• Decorations. Keep lit pumpkins and candles out of your pets reach as they pose an obvious fire hazard. Ribbons, streamers, electrical cords, confetti, and those fake cobwebs can all be dangerous if ingested by a curious pet.

• Pets in disguise. As cute as it may be to dress up your pet, costumes can restrict an animal’s ability to bark, breathe, move, see or hear. Be especially careful when using costumes which use rubber bands as they can cut into your pet’s skin and cause injury. Opt for something simple and fun like a Halloween bandana.

Keeping your pet indoors is especially important around Halloween. Although cats of all colors are at risk of being mistreated, black and white cats and their association with the supernatural may be direct targets of being teased, chased, and abused
 
but I have a huge Black Labby who usually does go along trick-or-treating if she's not at home helping greet our guests at the door. And she usually goes in costume- this year she's going to be a Candy Supervisor in a black T-shirt I bought at Target. I also bring along biscuits for her when the kids get candy along the route. She loves being out and greeting people when we go!!!
 
Thanks for the tips, everyone is always talking about kid safety but the animals can be innocent victims also. By the way the guy who I reported for animal abuse has hired an attorney. I think he thought since I moved that I wasn't going to show up. Wrong. The prosecutor who is called the solicitor, which is an old term which I think comes from the common law, said she was so glad to see us and both the judge and herself are animal lovers. They have changed the law in Georgia, it is now a felony for certain forms of animal abuse. He could get 15 yrs. and a hefty fine. I'll keep everyone informed. Preliminary hearing on Halloween.
 
• Candy can kill. Chocolate can be toxic to your pets, especially dogs. Xylitol, the artificial sweetener found in some candy can be poisonous to dogs as well.

Xylitol is scary stuff. It causes a massive amount of insulin to be released in dogs with 30-60 minutes which triggers very low (potentially fatal) blood sugar. It does not affect humans the same way and honestly I think all products containing it should carry a warning but of course they don't.

It is often used in sugar free gum but is also found in diabetic/sugar free cookies etc.... I rarely buy sugar free gum or mints but now I check to make SURE it does not contain xylitol as having that stuff around is a recipe for disaster.

However, xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs. Even small amounts of xylitol can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), seizures, liver failure or even death in dogs.

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...e/animal-health/xylitol-toxicity-in-dogs/4340
 

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