Tips to keep doggie and kitty safe on Halloween Night.

- Plan on keeping your furry friends indoors on Halloween night. Children and teens tend to be extra mischievous on Halloween and an unattended black cat, for example, will be at higher risk of injury or abuse.

- A dog’s perception differs from yours and mine and a dog can become very frightened by people wearing costumes and masks. A frightened dog, no matter how well trained and friendly under normal circumstances can and will act aggressively if he experiences intense fear or feels threatened in an way. To avoid potentially dangerous situations, place your dog in a crate or a closed but comfortable room.

- Keep wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your pet could experience damage to his mouth from the shards of glass or plastic or even possibly receive a life threatening electric shock.

- Do not take your dog trick-or-treating. Yes, your precious pooch may look adorable all gussied up as super dog or the wicked witch of the north but this is no time to show off your creativity. Dogs are quick to sense excitement, good or otherwise. Ghouls and witches running amok can spook your pet. Moreover, if yours is a small pooch trick-or-treaters in their excitement may easily trip over your precious.

- Keep all candy especially chocolates away from your pets. Chocolates in particular can be deadly to dogs and serious problems can arise when pets eat other candies, often wrappers and all.

- While pumpkin and decorative corn are considered relatively nontoxic they can result in upset tummies in your pets should they ingest them, and can even develop into intestinal blockage if large pieces are chomped.

- If your pet is easily frightened by sudden loud noises keep a television or radio on for the pet throughout the evening to drown out the sounds of firecrackers and other loud pranks.

- If your pets are part of the festivities at home and are dressed to the teeth as Count Dogula or Witch Kitty, be sure that the costume isn’t overly bulky or tangly. Costumes are naturally restrictive to animals who normally do well with just their own “clothing” and can lead to falls and injuries.

- ID. ID. ID. This is true throughout the year. Make sure that your dog or cat is properly ID’d with a tag on the collar or with a microchip. Should your precious wander away or get lost, the chances that he will be returned to you are much higher.