A VET is urging dog owners to keep Christmas confectionary well out of the reach of pets after a Border Collie needed emergency treatment for chocolate poisoning.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Mazikeen was rushed to Calweton Veterinary Group’s surgery in Callington after escaping from her crate, breaking into a parcel and wolfing down dark chocolate coffee creams.
Now the veterinary practice is warning other owners to keep Christmas treats away from their pets to avoid having to make an emergency visit to the vet over the festive season.
Vet Anna King, who treated Mazikeen, said that chocolate is highly poisonous to dogs because it contains a chemical called theobromine that can cause organ failure.
Mazikeen had eaten 500g of dark chocolate, which is particularly dangerous as it has higher levels of theobromine, and the chocolates contained coffee, which also isn’t good for dogs because it can affect their heart.
Anna said: “We use a toxicity calculator to assess whether a dog has eaten a dangerous amount of chocolate and it told us there was a severe toxicity risk to Mazikeen. When she arrived at the practice she looked very sorry for herself and she was shivering, which is a typical sign of chocolate poisoning because it affects temperature regulation.
“Unfortunately, treatment is rather unpleasant and very messy because we need to make the dog vomit up all the chocolate they’ve eaten. Mazikeen was then put on a drip to support her kidneys and she was given activated charcoal every four hours, which binds to the toxins and prevents them being absorbed by the body.”
Mazikeen spent the night under observation, and luckily she recovered quickly and was able to go home the next day. Blood tests showed that the chocolate hadn’t affected her kidney function.
Anna added: “Luckily, Mazikeen’s owner got her to us as soon as possible, which means we could limit the amount of damage the chocolate could cause.
“In some cases, however, chocolate poisoning can be fatal so it’s really important to prevent pets eating it in the first place. Unfortunately, we do see more cases of poisoning at this time of year because everyone has more chocolate in the house at Christmas.
“I would urge any pet owners to keep chocolate and other sweets where pets can’t reach them and avoid putting chocolate gifts under the tree where dogs can easily sniff them out. It’s also important to be aware that lots of other Christmas treats are toxic to pets, including mince pies, Christmas cake and Christmas pudding. Also, avoid giving them leftovers, such as turkey bones that can cause choking.
“If you do think your pet has eaten something they shouldn’t have, the best thing to do is call your vet practice because they can give you the right advice. We have an emergency service running all over the Christmas period out of our Callington practice, so there’s always someone available to help if a pet is unwell.”
Mazikeen is now back home in Looe with her family, who are making sure that any chocolatey treats they have over the festive season are kept out of harm’s way.
Owner Yvonne Hand said Mazikeen stole the food while she was out of the house, and she thought her pet was safely in her crate.
She explained: “We had received two packages, which were still in their cardboard delivery packaging, and I put them on the coffee table. I thought Mazikeen would be fine in her crate but she managed to use her nose to open the latch and get free.
“She chewed through one of the cardboard boxes to reach the tub of chocolates and ate about half of them, including the wrappers.”
Miss Hand says that when she got home, she noticed straight away that Mazikeen wasn’t her usual self and that her tummy was bloated.
She continued: “I was horrified when I noticed the chocolate was missing as I know it is really bad for dogs. We called the vets for advice and they told her to bring her straight in. I knew she was in safe hands at Calweton Vets and they looked after her so well.”
Miss Hand, who makes dog coats, had bought the chocolates as a Christmas treat for her customers at a dog show.
She added: “Mazikeen can be a bit cheeky, but I couldn’t believe that she’d managed to break out of her crate and then get to the chocolates through all that wrapping. The annoying thing is that the other parcel on the coffee table contained dog treats, so if she’d opened them instead she wouldn’t have needed a trip to the vets. I’ll certainly lock any chocolate away in future.”