Halloween Safety Tips for Pets from LA Animal Services

ANIMAL WATCH - Halloween can be the spookiest night of the year, especially for our four-legged furry friends! Keeping your pets happy and safe this Halloween doesn’t have to be tricky.  

LA Animal Services is offering the following pet safety tips to keep our furry family members safe during Halloween festivities: 

• No sweets for your sweetie. Candies and chocolate can be poisonous to dogs and cats. Ensure sweet treats are out of the pet's reach and throw wrappers away in the trash. This may be a good teaching opportunity for children who may not understand why pets can’t share their sweets. 
• Costumes are optional. Not all pets enjoy dressing up. A decorative collar is far more comfortable than a costume for your pet. Make sure your pet thinks a costume is as much fun as you do before dressing them up. If you do put your pet in a costume, try it on to make sure they are comfortable, and ensure it will not get wrapped around their neck or tangled around their legs. 
• Be careful around Jack-o’-lanterns and other Halloween decor. Keep candles and candle-lit carved pumpkins at an appropriate height where your pets can’t knock them over or get burned. Electric cords from decorative lights can entice your pet to play or chew them, potentially leading to strangulation, burns, or death. Keep all cords, strings, and Halloween decorations out of your pet’s reach. 
• Keep glow sticks out of reach. Glow sticks can help keep children safe, but should be kept out away from your pets. The liquid inside glow sticks are non-toxic, but it can agitate your pet and in some cases, cause your pet to get sick.
• Keep pets indoors and create a calming environment. Pets can become frightened by loud sounds and spooky sights, causing them to panic and escape their homes. Help reduce your pet’s anxiety by creating a calm and quiet environment for your pet. 
• Ensure your pet is licensed and microchipped with current identification. If for any reason your pet becomes lost, ensuring they have a collar with a current LA City license and/or ID tag on them and a microchip that’s registered with your most up-to-date contact information, will help reunite you with your companion animal. If you need to have your pet microchipped, visit any of the six LA Animal Services Center, where you can get your pet microchipped. The cost is $15.

For more information about LA Animal Services, and how to keep your pets safe, visit: laanimalservices.com.

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