Celebrate Howl-o-ween
You dress the kids to trick-or-treat, you don a witch hat to hand out candy, you probably even have some kind of get-up for the family pet. Well, here's your chance to show off.
We're looking for entries for our annual Star Tribune Halloween Pet Costume Contest.
You can submit multiple pets, multiple costumes and send multiple photos as long as it's your pet wearing the costume and your photograph. (For best results, try shooting your costumed pet with a neutral background. No Photoshopping.)
E-mail your photos to petcontest@startribune.com by midnight Oct. 20. Be sure to include contact information and feel free to add comments on the costume concept, creative challenges and willingness of your pet to be a model.
By entering photography, you give the Star Tribune the right to publish it on any of our platforms in perpetuity.
Photos of the top entries will be published in the Star Tribune on Oct. 30. The winning pets will receive special commemorative dog tags.
RICHARD CHIN
COVID-related shortage
Veterinarians, ranchers and farmers are all having trouble obtaining ivermectin, a deworming medication incorrectly believed to treat COVID-19. As stocks run low, people who need the drug to treat livestock and pets are having to pay as much as seven times more for another parasite-killing treatment. Veterinarians and retailers are now rationing the liquid and paste formulations made for animals and requiring purchasers to prove that they need it for an animal. The Food and Drug Administration issued a statement warning against humans self-medicating with animal versions of the drug.
Myths about service animals
Not everything you think you know about service animals is correct. Common misconceptions are that service animals always wear a vest, that they never bark (some are trained to bark as an alert), that people can have only one service animal at a time, that only Labradors or German shepherds can be service animals, that pit bulls aren't allowed to be service animals, that service animals must be certified or registered, that service animals must complete official training programs, or that people with service animals don't have to follow licensing laws or vaccination requirements. Learn more about service animals and the Americans with Disabilities Act here: adata.org/service-animal-resource-hub/misconceptions.
