Animal Shelter Offers Tips to Keep Pets Safe on Halloween

The Cumberland County Animal Shelter is asking residents to keep their pets safe as families participate in trick-or-treating Wednesday evening.

Andrea Gaskins is the Director of the Cumberland County Animal Shelter. She said keeping animals away from candy is a big pet-safety tip not only for Halloween, but for every ‘feasting’ holiday.

“Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are usually when vets see animals that have gotten into goodies and of course, most people know chocolate can be toxic to animals,” Gaskins said. “That’s a big is making sure everything is kept up securely out of reach of the animals and making sure the animals are kept up, especially during the trick-or-treat hours where they have a likelihood of being scared by kids in costumes… that’s the big two.”

Gaskins said dogs who are not on a lead can become scared easily and run away from their owners. She adds dogs that are normally friendly can become scared or even aggressive by the unaccustomed sights and sounds.