Tips to keep pets safe over Halloween

To keep pets safe over Halloween, the Central California Animal Disaster Team is sharing the following tips for pet owners:

• Keep your pets indoors, away from trick-or-treaters and other Halloween activities.
• Make sure pets wear tags with updated identification in case they get out when opening the door for trick-or-treaters.
• Keep candy out of reach – chocolate and other ingredients can be toxic to pets.
• Take care with costumes – masks can make pets uncomfortable or cause injury.
• Keep pets away from decorations, such as candles, which can set fire to fur, hanging items, which can entangle or choke animals, and fake cobwebs, which they can choke on.
• When trick-or-treating, leave your dog at home.
• Know that Halloween plants, such as pumpkins and decorative corn, are considered relatively nontoxic, but they can create stomach problems for pets that nibble on them.
• Watch out for wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations. If chewed, pets may suffer cuts, burns or a life-threatening electrical shock.

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Tips to keep pets safe over Halloween."