My Take Tuesday: Halloween

I love this time of year! The cool fall breeze, the crisp chill to the air, the brilliant, gilded glory of the golden aspen and cottonwood leaves, the deep red of the sugar maple and scrub oak bushes all bring out the best of nature’s canvas and bring a profound sense of relaxation to my senses. With all of the sadness in the world today, we are in desperate need of a new beginning, a comforting time to reset, a beauty that comes around every year in the form of autumn. 

This is the season of the harvest moon, pumpkins, football games and corn mazes. The smell of the first fire in a wood burning stove, and the taste of hot apple cider all create an olfactory bonanza and take me back to days of long ago. I think about my childhood, pumpkin pie, Halloween carnivals at Castle Dale Elementary, and the magic in a young boy’s hopes and dreams.

Nostalgia can be like a fun-house mirror, so any claims that “back in my day, we went trick-or-treating until midnight,” while kids these days are forced to make do with half an hour of highly supervised trick-or-treating before sunset, are surely a benign distortion.

Still, it seems like the tradition of going door-to-door demanding candy is not quite what it used to be. Over the past couple of years, as Halloween has come and gone, large “trunk or treating” events (in which community members circle up their cars, fling their trunks open, decorate them, and fill them with candy, and then have their kids make the rounds in a parking lot) have slowly replaced the door-to-door adventures I so fondly recall. 

I remember one year especially well. The late October wind was serene and tranquil as the bold orange sun faded into the seemingly empty autumn evening sky west of Ferron, Utah. Crisp shades of red, yellow, and orange from fallen leaves, formed a thin layer over the verdant lawns of the neighborhood.

I set out with my friend Jake Bulkley on an epic trick-or-treat adventure in the small town of Ferron, Utah. I remember walking along 500 South carrying brightly colored plastic buckets filled with what seemed like endless supplies of Sour Patch Kids, Jaw Breakers, Lemon Heads, Candy Corn and Reese’s Peanut Cups. We felt like we had a successful candy haul until Jake’s younger sisters arrived home carrying pillowcases filled to the brim with candy. They had followed the exact same route, but somehow ended up with ten-fold the amount of candy. It was at the moment that I realized that trick or treating was for children younger than me. Jake and I decided our time would be better spent doorbell ditching and performing other typical teenage boy pranks. Jake and I still laugh to this day about our mischievous fall adventures we had while attending San Rafael Junior High.

Halloween for me is still filled with unpredictable adventures. As a veterinarian, I encounter more black cats than the average person. October 31st is always a busy day at Mountain West Animal Hospital. Although this is a fun holiday for us, Halloween can be precarious for our four-legged family members. Keeping our pets safe is a year-round job, requiring special attention during the holidays and special occasions. Pets chew up and eat things humans never would think of consuming. Here are a few pointers to keep your pets safe this Halloween:

1. Don’t feed your pets Halloween candy, especially if it contains xylitol (a common sugar substitute found in sugar-free candies and gum); or chocolate. 

2. Make sure your pet is properly identified (microchip, collar and ID tag) in case s/he escapes through the open door while you’re distracted with trick-or-treaters.

3. Keep lit candles and jack-o-lanterns out of reach of pets.

4. If you plan to put a costume on your pet, make sure it fits properly and is comfortable, doesn’t have any pieces that can easily be chewed off, and doesn’t interfere with your pet’s sight, hearing, breathing, opening its mouth, or moving. Take time to get your pet accustomed to the costume before Halloween, and never leave your pet unsupervised while he/she is wearing a costume.

5. Keep glow sticks and glow jewelry away from your pets. Although the liquid in these products isn’t likely toxic, it tastes really bad and makes pets salivate excessively and act strangely.

6. If your pet is wary of strangers or has a tendency to bite, put him/her in another room during trick-or-treating hours or provide him/her with a safe hiding place.

7. Keep your pet inside. This is the easiest way to keep them safe.

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

And that is my take!

N. Isaac Bott, DVM