{"id":15059,"date":"2025-10-25T22:31:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T22:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/15059\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T22:31:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T22:31:07","slug":"halloween-festivities-can-be-dangerous-for-pets-here-are-ways-you-can-keep-them-safe-wpxi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/15059\/","title":{"rendered":"Halloween festivities can be dangerous for pets. Here are ways you can keep them safe \u2013 WPXI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">PITTSBURGH \u2014 Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh (HARP) is urging pet owners to take precautions to keep their pets safe during Halloween.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Halloween festivities can pose hidden dangers for pets, including toxic candy and stressful costumes. HARP advises pet owners to plan ahead to ensure a safe and enjoyable holiday for their furry friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">\u201cCostumes, candy and scares can be lots of fun for humans, but not every pet enjoys the spooky surprises,\u201d said Dan Cody, Executive Director of Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Chocolate, especially dark or baking varieties, can be toxic to dogs and cats, and sugar-free candies made with xylitol are dangerous as well. Even candy wrappers can cause choking or intestinal blockages if swallowed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">If you suspect your pet has eaten something harmful, HARP urges contacting your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435. The service is available 24\/7, though a consultation fee may apply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">For costumes, HARP says they should not restrict movement, vision, or breathing, and should be free of small or dangling pieces that could be chewed off. If your pet shows signs of stress or discomfort, remove the costume and consider a festive collar or bandana instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Pets can easily knock over lit pumpkins, creating a fire hazard. HARP suggests opting for battery-operated candles to safely enjoy your jack-o\u2019-lanterns. While pumpkins and decorative corn are generally nontoxic, they can still cause stomach upset if eaten.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Frequent visitors and open doors can make Halloween stressful and provide easy escape routes for pets. To keep pets safe, HARP suggests they stay in a quiet, secure area away from the activity. As an extra precaution, ensure they are wearing ID tags and that their microchip information is current, in the event they do escape.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">For especially anxious pets, consider talking to your veterinarian about calming techniques or medications to ease Halloween stress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpxi.com\/mobile-apps\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Follow Channel 11 News on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wpxi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WPXI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>. | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpxi.com\/video\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph body-copyright\">\u00a92025 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh (HARP) is urging pet owners to take precautions to keep their&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[11280,3218,11281,11282,11283,11284,2359,11285,11286,11287,11288,11289,2662,11290,11291,11292,8773,11293,732,11294,8220,11295,11296,1070,3547,11297,11298,11299,11300,7026,11301,11302,3797,11303,73,75,74,5424,11304,11305,8221,11306,11307,11308,1274,5432,5433,3467,4051,11309,9653,11310],"class_list":["post-15059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-animal","tag-autumn","tag-bed","tag-blanket","tag-candle","tag-cape","tag-celebration","tag-costume","tag-cute","tag-dead","tag-demon","tag-devil","tag-dog","tag-door","tag-evil","tag-face","tag-funny","tag-ghost","tag-halloween","tag-harvest","tag-haunt","tag-head","tag-hell","tag-holiday","tag-horror","tag-humor","tag-joke","tag-lamp","tag-lantern","tag-light","tag-monster","tag-nightmare","tag-october","tag-pet","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-pumpkin","tag-satan","tag-scared","tag-scary","tag-sheet","tag-spooky","tag-terror","tag-thanksgiving","tag-treat","tag-trick","tag-trick-or-treat","tag-white","tag-wicked","tag-winter","tag-witch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}