Halloween is a time for fun for kids of all ages and even our animals.  But it’s no fun if there’s an accident.  If you take a few precautions you can reduce the likelihood of your pet being involved with a problem.

Halloween is all about candy and we know that candy and animals don’t mix.  According to the ASPCA chocolate is the number one human food that pets ingest.  Human food ranks number 4 on their list of the top pet toxins in 2011. The 2^nd most ingested human food is xylitol, the sugar substitute.

A lot of the rules are common sense and you’ve learned these if you’ve had a pet very long.  Don’t leave the basket of candy you are handing out in a place the dog can get it.  Also you may want to assign someone to handle the dog, especially if you have a dog that gets excited when the doorbell rings.  Don’t leave him unattended in another room because he may get very agitated and destructive.  If you have young children, make sure they are supervised when eating their candy so the dog won’t be able to get it.

   If you’re going to dress up your pet the folks at Halo pet food have some good tips for safe Halloween costumes.   Here are some creative outfits!

Many people have had their Halloween plans changed because of the damage from Superstorm Sandy.

Photo: By Mehdi Taamallah, AFP/Getty Image

Many pets have lost their homes and have become separated from their families.  The Humane Society as well as the ASPCA are both active in animal control in the damaged areas and working to reunite animals with their owners as well as helping orphaned animals.  You can follow their efforts and contribute money on their websites and their social media sites.

Fetch! Pet Care of NW Atlanta provides pet sitting, dog walking and cat care services for Roswell, East Cobb, Woodstock and Kennesaw, GA.  You can see the happy pets by following us on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/fetchnwatlanta/.