I really love to pamper my pooches. Violet, 10, and Daisy, one, are little miniature schnauzers who are different in almost every way except one: I love them with all of my heart.
Whether or not you have a pet, you probably can appreciate how tempting it is to want to give them treats all the time. We all enjoy showing our love for our pets, and food is definitely one of the things that tops their list. However, food can cause trouble, even when you don’t give it…
Daisy can be a little troublemaker, mostly because she is still so curious about everything. Listen in on her thoughts: “What’s under this rock? What’s behind that tree? Who’s in that car over there? Who’s upstairs? Is there a door open? Is that squirrel looking at me?” Everything seems to require the same intensity of investigation. It’s fun to watch—and to listen to, as it does mean the pitter patter of little feet constantly through the house.
Wednesday night her curiosity got the best of her. A half-eaten raisin oatmeal cookie (one of those delicious ones from Grand Central) was in a briefcase, which was set upon a chair. At 10 o’clock at night, while I was watching television, she decided to investigate downstairs. She hopped onto the chair, pulled the half eaten cookie out of the briefcase and the bag that it was in, and munched away. (I assume happily.) Then she ran back upstairs and gave me a big kiss.
I happened to notice that her breath smelled a lot like vanilla! #NotNormal!
We found the empty bag on the floor. Raisins seemed suspicious to me, and a quick Google search confirmed they could make her very sick.
And the smaller the dog, the greater the level of threat of liver failure. I didn’t know how many she’d eaten in the half cookie, so we went into emergency mode and had to address it.
My closest emergency vet is VCA Emergency Animal Hospital; I called them, and they were terrific. They gave me the phone number of the ASPCA animal poison control hotline.
During that call, I learned that I needed to get Daisy to try to throw up. We experimented with hydrogen peroxide and some peanut butter, which of course meant I had to dash to CVS to buy a fresh bottle of hydrogen peroxide!
First time: no vomiting. It was, however, easy to keep her moving around while trying to induce it: Daisy was on a MAJOR sugar high! We repeated the hydrogen peroxide process, but she still didn’t throw up. After calling the poison control hotline back we realized we had to take her to the emergency vet.
The very kind staff there took us in immediately and got to work. Success! Daisy managed to expel her treat—and they counted over 20 raisins!
That was the good news! The questionable news: in the time between eating and getting to the vet, had she had time to digest some raisins? And if so, was it enough to permanently affect her liver?
We left there at 2am, and the next morning her follow-up treatments began. For the past two days she has been doing a “Doggie Day Spa“ at her regular vets office, Fairfield Veterinary Hospital, where she is getting eight hour infusions to flush her liver. The picture is from this morning’s drop off; her paw has a pic line in it to make it easier to let her in and out to go to the bathroom all day and then reattach the IV. She doesn’t look very happy about it, but her energy, behavior and mood at home last night was as if nothing happened.
The doctors and assistance are all very hopeful, as are we.
So while we anticipate and pray for for tonight’s “all clear” phone call, I’m taking the time to refresh my memory on all of the possible things that can affect a dog’s health. Here’s the ASPCA’s list if you’re curious yourself. (Bet you didn’t know this one: Xylitol, the sugar-alternative sweetener commonly used in gum, toothpaste, baked goods and more, can lead to liver damage.)
So thanks for all your good wishes about Daisy’s health! Now, maybe you can help me decide how best to “treat” her when she gets home! New toys, belly rub, car ride (to a park this time!), a good chewy bone, or all of the above?
