Create a Safe Spooky Season for Your Pets with Tips from Best Friends Animal Society

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Strangers at the door, sugar everywhere, and flickering flames may make humans happy on Halloween, but for pets, it can mean a lot of additional stress and potential danger.  

That’s why Best Friends Animal Society, a national nonprofit leading the movement to make America no-kill*, which means saving the lives of healthy or treatable pets in shelters, has rounded up its top tips to help pets and their owners making it through the spooky season as stress-free as possible:  

• Saved from the Bell: Every doorbell ring represents a potential opportunity to escape when people open the door to trick or treaters. Instead, set pets up in a quiet room in the home and turn on the TV to drown out the commotion. For extra peace of mind, make sure collars, ID tags, and microchips are up-to-date or invest in a Fi GPS collar to track a pet in real time should they get out of the house. 
• Beware the Candy Cauldron: The candy people love so much can be truly hazardous to a pet’s health. Consumption of candy such as chocolate or even sugar-free goodies, which contain xylitol, can result in an upset stomach or blockage. To keep your pets safe from temptation, store candy somewhere pets cannot reach, such as the top of the refrigerator or in a closed upper cabinet.  
• Give Them a Healthy Treat: If pets are begging for a little something special, give them a healthy alternative to candy, like some plain pumpkin puree, sweet potato, or pet-safe treats. That way everyone can celebrate safely. 
• Forsake the Open Flame: A wagging tail or curious nose near a fire-lit pumpkin is a fast track to a potential burn or house fire. To get the same glow with none of the risk, use flameless LED candles. 
• Keep Costumes Comfortable: If a pet has shown a willingness to play dress up, make sure their costume does not restrict movement or contain small parts that can be chewed off and swallowed. Look for signs of stress like panting, pinned, ears, or trying to wriggle out of their outfit – and if any are present, take off the costume immediately. For a little Halloween fun without the fuss, try a themed bandana instead. 

If you’re looking for the sweetest treat of all this Halloween, adopt a dog or cat! Adoptions are $25 in October at Best Friends Animal Society locations throughout the country. Visit bestfriends.org/adopt for more information or go to your local shelter to find a dog or cat that’s perfect for you.  

*No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate or greater for pets entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols.