We want to thank all the fans of the Central Aroostook Humane Society who stopped by our booth at the Caribou Craft Fair this past weekend.
What an awesome turnout of people who shared their stories of pets that they adopted at our shelter. We truly do love to hear all the happy ending stories. We’ll share more details on our weekend in next week’s article.
But now, just in time for the spooky season, we want to offer some tips to keep your pets calm and safe.
On Halloween night, the doorbell is continuously ringing. This may be very frightening to your dog or cat or other pets. You need to have a game plan for them, as well, on Halloween night.
Have a room set up for them and keep them behind closed doors during trick-or-treating hours. Have food, water, a toy or two and a litter box, if needed, all set up for them.
Suppose you saw the cutest costume for your pet. But just because you think a certain Halloween costume for your fur person is cute doesn’t mean that they will enjoy wearing it.
Try it on them in advance and see how they react. If they don’t like it, please don’t force them to wear it.
Common sense will tell you to keep the candy away from curious pets. Candy may contain substances toxic to pets, so be smart and keep them tucked away in a safe area.
Make sure your pets have identification such as a microchip, collar and ID tags. This will make it easy for someone to contact you and return your pet in case they escape through an open door while you’re distracted with trick-or-treaters.
If you own a cat and let it go outside, remember that this a bad time of year for cats. Vicious people tend to find Halloween an excuse to hurt or kill them. Keep them inside for a few days and nights. While they may whine a bit because they are used to going outside, they’ll be safer in the house where you can keep an eye on them.
There’s no need for a pet to run free anyway. Keep it home where it’s safe all year long.
We would love to have you stop by and see the beautiful animals that are waiting for a loving family to call their own. Check us out on Facebook or stop by the Central Aroostook Humane Society at 210 Cross Street in Presque Isle.
And remember to be responsible pet owners: spay or neuter your pets.
Gloria J. Towle is on the Central Aroostook Humane Society Board of Directors.
