LANSING, Mich. — One fright you don't want to experience this Halloween is a sick dog or cat.
Bethany Steele, the owner of Caring Animal Hospital in Holt, treats pets during the week of Halloween for exposure to sweets and abuse. She says chocolate is very toxic for pets.
"The chocolates and the candies are all in little wrappers and sometimes those wrappers will get stuck inside of their gastrointestinal track and then they'll not be able to move things in and out and so you'll see vomiting and diarrhea from foreign bodies, basically," she said.
Be sure to not leave your trick-or-treat bags on the floor or on easy to reach surfaces. Throw away glow sticks and jewelry.
An altered routine can also be stressful on pets.
"Costumes can be very scary, especially to dogs and cats and so animals will respond at night very differently. They'll get into things they might not. and so you have to watch them for those kinds of anxieties," Steele said.
If you see your pet is having this problem, isolate them and give them a favorite toy as a distraction.
As for pets that are more friendly, Steele said to not let them run out of the door to meet trick-or-treaters, because then they might run away. If you don't have proper ID or microchip, sometimes you 'll be unable to find them again.
Lastly, Steele said that she has treated black cats who've been abused.
"Be very careful where animals are and know where they are the night before and the night of Halloween, because that's when all the pranksters come out and they can really injure animals."
If you think your pet may be sick from eating candy, don't wait to get help from a veterinarian. By the time symptoms start showing -- it often means a worse prognosis and more expensive treatment.
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