Pet Briefs

Keep furry friends safe on Halloween

Candy, costumes, trick-or-treating and frighteningly fun times are what most people think of around Halloween.

But pets may find strangers coming to the door dressed as ghosts and goblins a little too scary. Here are some tips from the American Humane Association to help you and your pets have a fun and safe Halloween:

--Let your pets celebrate Halloween, too. Keep a supply of pet treats handy, and reach for one before you open the door for trick-or-treaters. If your pet sits calmly while the door is open, give her a treat.

--Safety first: Put pets in a quiet room away from the commotion to reduce their stress and chance of escape. Make sure your pet is wearing a collar with an up-to-date ID and rabies tags in case he does escape with trick-or-treaters.

--Pet-friendly Halloween decorations: Instead of an open flame in the jack-o'-lantern, opt for battery-powered pumpkins. Don't let your pet chew or eat things such as crepe-paper streamers; these often are colored with water-soluble dyes that will discolor your pet's mouth and can cause an upset stomach.

--Remember: No chocolate and candy! Dogs love chocolate as much as humans do, but it is very dangerous for dogs and cats if ingested.

For information on keeping pets happy and safe during holidays, go to www.american humane.org/petholidays. Find it on Twitter at www.twitter.com/americanhumane and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/americanhumane.

ASPCA announces '09 award winners

Ten animals and people, including a piano-playing cat and the task force that participated in the largest dog-fighting raid in U.S. history, will be honored for their deeds at this year's American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Humane Awards Luncheon in New York.

The luncheon will be held Thursday to recognize animal heroes that have demonstrated extraordinary efforts and individuals who made a significant impact in the lives of animals during the past year.

The winners are:

--Dog of the Year: Archie, an 8-year-old black Labrador retriever who serves as an assistance dog and social lifeline for Sgt. Clay Rankin of West Virginia, who suffered spinal injuries while serving in Iraq.

--Cat of the Year: Nora is a 5-year-old gray tabby from Cherry Hill, N.J., whose piano-playing skills quickly became a YouTube sensation, drawing more than 15 million page views and inspiring a Lithuanian composer to arrange a symphony in her honor.

--"Tommy Monahan" Kid of the Year: Monica Plumb, 11, of Powhatan County, Va., launched PetMask.com to collect online donations to purchase pet oxygen masks for fire departments and has since purchased more than 50 kits for fire stations in nine states.

--Firefighter of the Year: Deputy Chief Mark Duff and the Hingham (Mass.) Fire Department participated in the rescue of a 2-year-old black Lab named Ollie, who fell through the ice into Hingham Harbor.

--Law Enforcement Officers of the Year: On July 8, the ASPCA participated in a massive dog-fighting raid, the largest federal crackdown on dog fighting in U.S. history. The raid spanned Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nebraska and Mississippi and resulted in the rescue of more than 400 dogs and nearly 30 arrests. The success of the raid was largely due to the efforts of Tim Rickey and Kyle Held of the Humane Society of Missouri and undercover agents Sgt. Terry Mills and Sgt. Jeffrey Heath of the Missouri Highway Patrol.

--Henry Bergh Award: Steve Smith and Alayne Marker founded the Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Ovando, Mont., in December 2000 as a sanctuary for animals with special needs -- pets that are the least likely to be adopted and most likely to be euthanized in traditional shelters.

--Lifetime Achievement Award: In the 1960s, Richard O'Barry trained dolphins for the TV series "Flipper." Then he had a life-altering change of heart, and his about-face led to a lifelong crusade to free dolphins and educate the world about the plight of dolphins in captivity. In 1970, O'Barry founded the Dolphin Project and launched a campaign against the multibillion dollar dolphin industry.

Compiled by Brenda Rindge. Send items to pets@postandcourier.com.