Has everyone seen this? It is not a hoax. My granddaughter, who is Asst. Mgr. at a Vet Clinic, sent me this:

Subject: If you Have A Dog ... Read This

If you have a dog... PLEASE read this and send it on. If you don't have a dog, please pass along to friends who do.


Written by: Laurinda Morris, DVM

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 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM 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 this. 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 maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.

The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already 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 the 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.

Even if you don't have a dog, you might have friends who do. This is worth passing on to them.

Confirmation from Snopes about the above...http:// www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp

Also chocolate, onions and macadamia nuts are very toxic for dogs.

Not surprising. Raisin toxicity for dogs has been known for a long time ( in Britain, anyway) .

So when I have a Cadbury's 'fruit [raisin] and nut' chocolate bar, I'm careful not to give my dogs pieces containing raisins. (I'm so considerate that I don't want to poison them twice )

i knew raisins and grapes were poison to dogs. so is chocolate and onions, so be careful about the scraps you feed them.

I didn't, but wish I had known. I've been giving my dog raisins for several days without suspecting. I don't give my dog ANY table scraps. He likes pumpkin and sweet potatoes, but that's about all I give him.

With that strange lack of insight which dogs sometimes show, my Irish wolfhound loves eating grapes !

She may be banking on her size and weight being such that a few grapes won't upset her body much Bit like drinkers with wine, really !

The wonder is that dogs don't kill themselves with food that makes us ill. They are adapted to eat meat which is off,it being natural for them to find it in the wild when it's well past its sell-by date. And I doubt whether any of us would find coprophagia a nourishing activity. They have quite a gourmet's approach. My lot, in common with many, find the faeces of horses a particularly appealing dietary supplement but sniffily ignore the products of most other beasts

quote:

My lot, in common with many, find the faeces of horses a particularly appealing dietary supplement

That's way more information than we need there, Fred.

quote:

Originally posted by dance girl:

quote:

My lot, in common with many, find the faeces of horses a particularly appealing dietary supplement

That's way more information than we need there, Fred.

Aw ,bulldietarysupplement!

Fred, don't let anyone censor you, EVER. Back off, dance girl. You don't presume to know what "we" need, do you?

quote:

Originally posted by FredPuli:

quote:

Originally posted by dance girl:

quote:

My lot, in common with many, find the faeces of horses a particularly appealing dietary supplement

That's way more information than we need there, Fred.

Aw ,bulldietarysupplement!

Nah, it's all HS.

my dogs like carrots, lettuce and tomatoes. i hope these are safe to feed them.

Carrots are safe to feed your dog and so are string beans...Lettuce isn't the best because it is sometimes hard for them to digest but a little won't hurt them. I'm not sure about tomatoes though.

I would have to suggest that we avoid feeding our animals any people food, whether it is purportedly safe or not. Not that pet food itself is without its own issues, but we don’t know nearly enough about the physiology of animals to know what is safe to feed them from our own plates -especially since they can’t tell us how they are feeling.
Certain animals (rabbits, for example, and birds) can eat people food because they do in the wild, but dogs and cats should probably stick with pet food. Their natural prey is small animals, not lettuce or chocolate or nuts or fruit.
If you really want to feed your pet people food, check with your vet about it. Certain kinds of dogs or cats may be more sensitive to some foods than others, and their size may also factor in.

...Not that I am exempt from having fed my creatures from my plate, of course, but there is no time like the present to mend my evil ways. Not that I have any pets, but my little cat did die of renal failure. I never fed her any grapes, but who knows what her prior owners did.