by [email protected] &
[email protected]
In order to give you time to prepare, we would like to
bring you some animal friendly suggestions for Halloween. Check with
your local humane society or animal rights group to get animal friendly
flyers to hand out to trick-or-treaters, or to their parents. Some
people are trick-or-treating for their local shelters, asking for dog
cookies or kitty treats. PeTA has a new website of vegan candies and
treats that can be given out to children, as recommended by Elvira,
Mistress of the Dark. Even if you aren't handing out treats this year,
it's a good list to have of vegan candies. You can check them out at:
Halloween Treats
http://peta.org/feat/halloween01/index.html
If you are hosting a party for Halloween, or just like
to collect vegan recipes, this website has lots of mummy (oops, I mean
nummy) suggestions:
Vegan/Vegetarian Halloween
http://www.vegweb.com/food/events/index-halloween.shtml
For online friends, who you can't host with ghoulish
treats, this website offers free Halloween post cards to send:
Awesome Halloween Post Cards free Greeting Cards
http://www.marlo.com/post-hal.htm
And this one offers not only multiple websites with free
greeting cards, but has clip art as well:
Abraham's All Free Halloween Email Greeting Cards,
Postcards and Virtual Gifts
http://members.amaonline.com/freecards/halloweencards.htm
Of course the most important thing is to keep our
companion animals safe during this time of year. Unfortunately, some
people's idea of fun is harmful to animals, and some people just don't
realize the dangers, so please note the following tips:
* Don't leave companion animals unsecured or outside
unattended. There are too many people who enact their own brand of
satanic rituals on innocent animals, or think of animal torture as fun.
Be sure to protect horses and other livestock as well.
* Be aware that little humans dressed in strange
costumes, knocking on the door, can be confusing or frightening to cats
and dogs, which not only jeopardizes those little humans, but also can
give both cats and dogs an opportunity to escape out the open doorway,
into the night of unsavory characters as mentioned above. Keeping your
pet confined to another room will prevent accidents.
* Be careful with Halloween candles and decorations
around our four-footed friends. Whether knocked over, or ingested, they
are trouble waiting to happen.
* If you are involved in animal rescue and adoption,
this is not the time of year to be placing black cats. Many shelters
close down adoptions completely the week before Halloween. If you see
ads for animals "free to good home," let the advertiser know about the
dangers of adopting at Halloween.
* Animals are creatures of habit, so be aware that the
excitement of Halloween and the changes from normal can be disconcerting
to your companion animals. Make allowances, protecting them, and
understanding if they do things a little out of the norm.
* Most importantly, keep chocolate away from dogs and
cats. Make sure the smallest goblins in your house don't sneak them
treats from their bag. Candy wrappers are also dangerous to the
digestive system, and can smell good enough to eat. Instead of candy,
how about some vegetarian dog biscuits:
Vegetarian Dog Biscuits
http://www.doggieconnection.net/recipe/vegetarian_dog_biscuits.html
* And finally, if your dog is one that really, really
enjoys dressing up, and some dogs do, make sure to use a costume that
isn't too restrictive, that doesn't limit eyesight (which might cause
someone to startle the dog and cause a bite), and be sure to refrain
from using rubber bands. Too often veterinarians have had to amputate
ears or limbs when someone has forgotten to remove a rubber band and it
has imbedded in the skin.
For a sweet story about the love of one dog for
Halloween, see the following website:
Halloween! A Holdiay for Dogs
http://www.woofs.org/issues/1097/halloween.html
Go on to Even Spookier
Than Halloween
Return to 24 October 2004 Issue
Return to Newsletters
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