While many of us think it's hilarious to shame our animals into wearing something completely against their will for Halloween, we also love our pets dearly and wouldn't want to put them in any danger. If you're an animal owner, read on for some key points to keep in mind when it comes to celebrating Halloween with Man's Best Friend.
1. Keep them away from the chocolate! It's dangerous and can even be deadly to some animals.
2. If you're planning on dressing up your pet make sure that the costume doesn't hinder their movements and doesn't have pieces to it that could easily be removed and ingested.
3. Sad but true: outdoor animals often fall victim to Halloween pranks. It's recommended that you bring in any outdoor pets. Black cats are especially susceptible to Halloween cruelty.
4. Halloween decor: Would you like to know what happened to the adorable black lab who munched down on a pumpkin last year? It only took a quick Google search to find out that pumpkins are a great laxative before we were counting down to explosion...
5. Most animals go crazy for the doorbell and even crazier for strangers. Keep them in a safe place where the noise of the night won't bother them and they can't get to the Trick-or-Treaters. Remember, not everyone loves animals as much as you do!
Sources:
• Halloween Pet Dangers
• Trick, Treat or Trouble: Halloween Dangers for our Pets
Image: care2
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Black cat story with a happy ending.
My friend has a medium hair black cat name Mr.Smudge. Two days before Halloween Mr.Smudge disappeared and my friend was frantic with worry. Day after Halloween she was gardening when she heard meowing. Looking up she saw Mr.Smudge trotting towards her. She scooped him up and hugged him, only a short while later did she notice that Mr.Smudge has been bathed and combed!
Who ever took Mr. Smudge for their presumably Halloween activities returned him after bathing and brushing him up. My friend now keeps Mr. Smudge indoors for the two weeks leading up to Halloween. As for Mr. Smudge he didn't seem traumatized and kept going outside whenever he can.
Second the bringing pets inside comment....
We once had an orange cat who was a stray. He just showed up at our house one day and so we kept him. We had him for about a year and really loved our cat! He was an indoor/outdoor cat so no big for him to be outside, but then on Halloween some trick-or-treaters came by and commented that he looked like their lost cat. We didn't think much of it until we realized the next day that he was gone! Never to be seen again.
I like to think that the trick-or-treaters were his real/original family and they just took him back (even if it was in a thieving way!), but we can't be sure. In any case there are lots of people outside on Halloween, and it can be chaotic. I will always keep my pets inside in the future.
Halloween is a human holiday. Protect your pets and DON'T decorate them.
@SherryBinNH- as long as your pet "decorations" are safe/not an annoyance to the animal then there's no harm in dressing up your pet. It's really just a matter of taste; I totally get not liking the idea of dressing up the pets!
What kind of animal is wearing the pointed hat in the photo, dog or cat? It looks disgusted.
Looks like a perturbed Pug.
@junklover, thanks, not a flattering photo!
Pugs always look perturbed, whether they're wearing silly hats or not - it's their natural expression :-)
Rebekka (with pugs Casper and Oscar)
*sigh* I simply do not understand the strong emotions that come from pet costumes. While I've never dressed up my pets on halloween its really none of my business if other people do. I've never heard people making a big deal about parents forcing to their kids to wear things they didn't want to anyways.