Celebrating Halloween with your pets can be a lot of fun, but it's important to take a few precautions to avoid any unwanted scares! Here are our top three Halloween tips for pet safety:

1. Keep Candy Out of Paw's reach
Chocolate can be very dangerous, even fatal, for pets. It contains a compound called theobromine, which, like caffeine, is toxic to dogs and cats when eaten in large quantities. To be safe, keep all chocolate away from your dog or cat! If your pet eats any chocolate, call your vet immediately for advice. Other candy can make your pet very sick as well, so its best to make sure all candy is kept securely away, like in a top with a screw on lid, not in a bag on your child's floor  in a bowl on the counter.

2. Trick or Treat?
Thinking of taking your dog out with you trick or treating? Unless your dog is used to seeing small goblins and ghosts running around screeching waving strange round orange objects, its probably not such a good idea! Even the best behaved pet may become frightened. We recommend leaving your furry friend at home.

Does your dog bark non-stop at the doorbell?  Halloween can be a nightmare! You might want to think of alternatives, such as putting up a Halloween sign that says "knock for treats" or sitting by your door during peak treating hour. We recommend keeping your pets locked inside in a room away from the front door to avoid accidental escaping too.

3. Keep Your Pet Indoors
Halloween is a very dangerous time for cats. Especially for black cats! Our shelter does not adopt out black cats during October to avoid possible cat abuse during the Halloween season. To avoid having your cat stolen and possibly tortured, make sure he or she stays safely inside your house the day before and day of Halloween. If you have a black or mostly black cat, keep it inside during the weeks leading up to Halloween as well. Dogs too are best kept safely inside all night to avoid possible pranksters.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!