What are you and your dog doing to celebrate the “howl-oween” season? Maybe you’d like to take the pooch on a surfing safari? There are prizes for the hottest “hang ten” surfer-dogs at Surf City Surf Dog event in Huntington Beach Sept. 23-25 (surfcitysurfdog.com) . Perhaps you’d like to dress your pet up in one of those silly costumes and make him look like a bunny, a pig, a witch or ballet dancer with a tutu. This is your prime season to purchase a doggy outfit and show off your little mate at Dogtoberfests, Howloween parades and doggy costume contests.

There are hundreds of dog events throughout California being hosted, and most are fundraisers for favorite pet causes that range from pet adoption to helping support and fund animal shelters. We’re just getting started with our doggy calendar, but here are a few events scattered throughout California that won’t take a bite out of your wallet, and will help promote humane care of man’s best friend. To date, we’ve found found events in San Francisco, Los Gatos, Los Angeles, Corona and Orange County.

Facts about dogs in California:

• Over 40% of residences report owning at least one dog.
• California pays out the largest amount of money on home-owner dog bite claims, and has the largest population of dogs in the U.S.
• Californians taxpayers spend more than any other state to have unwanted dogs euthenized (including 25% that are purebreds)