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  • CONTACT: Tom Snyder
    760-343-4908
    development@animalsamaritans.org
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    How to Keep Your Animals Safe During Halloween

    Thousand Palms, CA October, 22 - We all love a good pet costume, but some well-meaning pet owners can make life hard on their animals with constricting outfits and sugary treats. If you plan to dress your dog or cat for the holidays, be sure they can see clearly and that their costume has no strings or cords that restrict movement. A normally friendly or docile pet can feel threatened and behave more aggressively if hampered by an unwanted and uncomfortable costume.

    Most pet owners know that chocolate can be toxic, even fatal to their dogs (and cats), but in the rush of preparing for trick-or-treaters and party guests it's easy to forget about safeguarding our pets. Keep your candies and treat bowls in a place your animals cannot reach. Signs your dog may have ingested chocolate include: vomiting, diarrhea, trembling, muscle spasms, and excessive nervousness. If you discover your pet has eaten chocolate, foil or plastic wrappers please call your veterinarian immediately.

    Other common-sense reminders for a Pet-Safe Halloween are:

    1. Keep holiday lights, wires and extension cords away from your animals.

    2. If you are putting the traditional lit candle in your Halloween jack-o-lantern, be mindful: rambunctious pets can tip over your pumpkins and cause trouble. Do not leave a lit candle unattended when you have pets in the home.

    3. Do not dress your pets in costumes that restrict their ability to see, bark, or breathe normally.

    4. During peak trick-or-treating hours, keep your pet in a separate room if possible. The noise of constant doorbell ringing and the influx of costumed children may be stressful, and a frequently opening door may allow your animal to dart outside.

    5. Remember to keep your pet's collars with ID tags on him or her all times. If pets happen to get out of the house, and get lost or picked up, valid identification from ID tags and microchipping will increase your chances of finding them.


    Animal Samaritans SPCA, a 501 (c) non-profit organization founded in 1978, is committed to improving the lives of animals and people. As the Coachella Valley's most comprehensive animal welfare organization, we strive to one day eliminate the needless suffering and abuse of homeless and unwanted animals. Programs and services in place to save the lives of healthy and treatable animals include prevention through humane education, low-cost and no-cost spay and neuter, low-cost vaccinations, low-cost dental care and pet wellness exams, microchipping, animal sheltering and pet adoptions. In addition, more than one hundred volunteers from our Animal Assisted Therapy programs visit disabled children from special needs classrooms, nursing home residents, and hospital patients, while our Animal Assisted Activities teams see residents of Juvenile Hall.