It’s important to keep your pets safe this Halloween by thinking around the holiday excitement, and being aware of the little catastrophes lurking in the night. Here are some tips to keep your dogs and cats safe for Halloween:

• Don’t give Halloween candy to dogs and cats.  Chocolate and artificial sweetners can be poisonous to dogs.
• Avoid putting costumes on pets. Many dogs and cats don’t like costumes, and some can confine or restrict their movements. If you do dress up your pet, check the costume doesn’t impair their movement, hearing, sight or ability to breathe or bark. Also check the costume for any choking hazards.
• Keep pets inside and away from the front door and trick-or-treaters.  Halloween brings a flurry of unknown visitors constantly arriving at the door, and pets may go into attack mode or escape the safety of their home.  Make sure your pet has their identification tags on for the evening.
• Be especially careful of your black cats.  Keep them in the house for the evening.  Cats, especially black ones, often fill victim to the cruelty and pranksters on Halloween.  That is why some ASPCAs will not allow black cats to be adopted around Halloween.
• Keep candy wrappers away from pets. Cats love to play with candy wrappers, animal experts say–and many cats love to eat strange things. But if cats ingest aluminum foil or cellophane it can cause intestinal blockage and induce vomiting.
• Keep Halloween decorations away from pets. Dogs and cats can easily knock over a jack-o’-lanterns and start a fire. And curious kittens are particularly at risk of getting burned by candle flames. Keep dangling decorations in high places to avoid choking hazards. Wires and cords from holiday decorations also pose a danger to pets. If chewed, a wire can damage your pet’s mouth from shards of glass or plastic or give them a potentially lethal electrical shock.
• Use fake cobwebs sparingly on trees and bushes. They can pose a risk to pets and small birds can easily become entangled in the webbing.

So, that time to protect your pets so that everyone can have a safe, fun Halloween!

Sonic the Crazy Beagle wishes all my beagle and dog-loving friends a Happy Halloween!  May you all have a great, safe, and fun Halloween.   The following a little Halloween wish and fun from this crazy beagle and my friends:

I loved today’s Rally to Restore Sanity!  While I believe that beagles can be crazy, our politics and behavior shouldn’t be crazy.

However, I thought the rally wasn’t balanced in one situation.  They had Yosuf, originally Cat Stevens, come to sing “Peace Train.”  They should have had Three Dog Night come out to sing “Joy to the World” so that the dogs can outnumber the cat.  But today, I will be civil.

Restore the Sanity!

National Weatherization Day is October 30th. As the weather becomes colder, if you think you are cold, think about your pets.  Pets are the closest to the floor,  and as you well know, heat rises so it is a little cold near the floor for us dogs and beagles.

For ideas and resources on how to make your pet, especially dogs and beagles, more comfortable go to http://www.waptac.org/Weatherization-Day/WAPTAC-Resources.aspx.

Today is Frankenstein Friday!  What a classic.  We are planning to watch the Mel Brooks classic comedy, Young Frankenstein.

Be afraid, be very afraid.