02.22.08
dogs may be poisoned by raisins, grapes or chocolate
This is not a hoax, so be careful and watch what your dog eats. If you have a dog… PLEASE read and SHARE THIS (see at end of post). If you don’t have a dog, please pass along to friends who do.
Verified at Snopes.com
Written by: Laurinda Morris, DVM in 2004
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville, Ohio
This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old, male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30AM and 4:30PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn’t call my emergency service until 7AM.
I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn’t seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something about it, but…. Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give I V fluids at 1 1/2 times maintainance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.
The dog’s BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was alread y at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At that point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.
He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn’t control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220. He continued to vomit and the owners elected to euthanize.
This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler’s. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.
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Besides raisins and grapes, Snopes.com also warns not to feed chocolate to dogs OR CATS. Chocolate– especially dark or baker’s chocolate– and cocoa, onions and macadamia nuts can be toxic to dogs. Be very careful not to leave these things within a dog’s reach. And be aware that there are some garden mulch products made from cocoa beans which can attract and poison dogs if ingested.
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THANK YOU doglover jdtp4e for alerting us to this one!!
