Happy Hallowe’en! And to celebrate, here’s a story about a different kind of mask — one that firefighters can use to keep Fido and Fluffy breathing while they’re being rescued from a burning building.

In the last few human generations, cats and dogs have gone from working cohabitors of our land, to beloved family pets, to members of the family. I know several people who treat their pets as their children, and GoddessJ and I have been known to do that ourselves, with our felines. This is just the latest manifestation of that progression.