Halloween is fun for many children and adults, but it can create problems for pets.

Let’s start with costume-making for your children. This often involves lots of fabric, plastic and sticky glue all over the place. This is where you need to be careful because dogs in particular love a new toy and will readily pick up anything that drops on the floor.

I once had a black Labrador dog as a patient. It would not eat. Radiographs revealed he had a swollen full stomach. A basketball-sized amount of crusty crunchy material has to be removed surgically. The dog had eaten a small tube of Gorilla Glue. He was fine afterwards, but it shows what a tiny amount of glue can do when ingested.

When it comes to costumes for your pet, be careful. A costume may look adorable but can be very uncomfortable for your animal. They already have a fur coat so adding more insulation can easily cause overheating, especially in Bermuda’s climate.

Costumes can also be constrictive around their necks and arms and cause rubs to their skin. If you must dress your pet be quick, take a photo, then take it off and let them relax. They don’t know it’s Halloween.

I always advise clients to keep animals indoors on Halloween night. There may be an over-excited young ‘witch’ who picks up your beloved black cat to add to her costume then wanders away from home before letting them go again. And, although it baffles me why, some people throw eggs and rocks at animals on Halloween.

I heard of a case in which a group of ‘children’ shaved a cat they thought belonged to a woman who had not given them candy. The cat actually belonged to a police officer. The youths were reprimanded accordingly.

With a lot of people on the streets animals can become disorientated and run for cover in unusual places. Keep your pet safe at home before the frivolities begin.

There is a large abundance of chocolate around Halloween which is very bad for our doggy pals. Chocolate is derived from the roasted seeds of Theobroma cacao, which contain certain properties that can be toxic to animals: caffeine and theobromine. If ingested, these ingredients can lead to various medical complications and may even prove fatal for your dog.

The type of chocolate they eat is also important. All chocolate is toxic but milk chocolate has less caffeine and theobromine than dark chocolate. Cooking chocolate is the worst. If your dog does eat your Halloween goodies, contact your vet immediately for assistance.

So have a Happy Halloween but keep your pets safe and have more treats than tricks.

Dr Lucy Richardson is the owner of CedarTree Vets, a companion animal concierge veterinary service in Bermuda. She graduated in 2005 from Edinburgh University and has worked as a vet in Bermuda since 2006. She is married to Mark and has two beautiful children, Ray and Stella. If you have a topic you would like Dr Richardson to discuss please contact her at cedartreevets@gmail.com or visit her website at www.cedartreevets.com