Keeping Your Dog Safe on Halloween

Ghosts and goblins. Witches and warlocks. Creepy crawlies. Not to mention Batmen, fairy princesses, and space aliens. For kids – and be honest – plenty of grownups, too, Halloween is a time when silliness gets a chance to shine. But for the dog of the house – or a cat or bird – the holiday can be a nuisance: A nightmare of doorbells that never stop ringing, loud noises in the night and too many strangers. For a cat – especially black ones – the haunted holiday can be downright lethal.

"Halloween can be just as dangerous as other holidays, even if it lasts just one night," said Ruth First, a spokesperson for the ASPCA. "After all, lots can happen in one night."

"We see substantially more pets than usual in the emergency room around the holiday, due to vomiting and diarrhea," says Debra Primovic, a veterinarian at the Animal Emergency Clinic in St. Louis. "Most of these cases are due to the animals getting into the kids' Halloween bags when nobody's around and getting into the chocolate." Here's how to keep your pet safe through a night of ghouls and goblins.

Safe At Home

Tricks and Treats