Meg, a one year old black Labrador, had a lucky escape last week after eating a 1kg bag of raisins. According to the Wells Journal, Meg had got into the kitchen cupboard and had eaten the raisins.
Meg’s owner, Di Harris, rang the vet because, unlike most people, she knew that raisins were poisonous to dogs.
Lou Brooker, veterinary surgeon at Axe Valley Vets, who treated Meg said, “It was lucky for Meg that her owner was well informed because raisins and grapes are potentially lethal for dogs, causing acute kidney failure.
“The problem is that although we know that raisins are toxic, we cannot be certain what quantities need to be consumed to be dangerous.”
When the vet examined Meg, she decided that they needed to treat her quickly. Ms. Brooker injected her with a substance to make her vomit.
Raisins are quite slowly ingested, and as they knew more or less when she had eaten them, they were fairly confident that they had not entered her blood stream.
“To be on the safe side, afterwards we put her on a drip with a high dose of fluids to flush out her kidneys and minimise any long term damage,” said Lou Brooker.
Meg was kept in overnight, and appeared to have recovered fully the next day, but she is still being monitored for any long term effects.
Now I never knew that raisins and grapes were posonous to dogs. It just goes to show – you learn something new every day.
