Danger

[Lee Seidman]

Please Read           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 , OH 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 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 aand had heard something about it, but Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control  Center and they said to give IV 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 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.     Onions, chocolate, cocoa and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too.  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 ......      Check out this site            snopes.com: Raisins and Grapes Harmful to Dogs

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We do have this information in the Danger Group:
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/danger

Also in the Food Group; "Foods that are Toxic to Dogs:
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/foods-t...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This is a great reminder. I've been aware that raisins and grapes were dangerous, but this points out just how dangerous. My daughters give their kids raisins as snacks all the time. I no longer allow them to bring them into our house. They think I'm crazy, but I just won't take the chance that one of the kids would allow Guinness to get them.

[BG and Gavin]

My friend's pug was fed grapes by an unwitting guest of theirs. They did not know until the dog became very sick in the middle of the night with vomitting and diarrhea. Thankfully, it recovered fine, They did not realize that grapes were toxic either until they did the research the next day.

[F, Calla & Luca]

This is a very sad story. Raisins and grapes are well known dangers for dogs as Karen stated. I think what confuses people, in part, are that some dogs can tolerate them. My cousin's lab ate grapes regularly and died of old age this year. There is no way to tell if tragedy could result though, so avoiding these foods is vital.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Thks for the reminder. Also, are olives in the same family?? My brothers large bull mastiff mix had a severe reaction to olives. Apparently after school one day, my nephew came home with some friends and while he was having a shower, one of the "morons" fed the dog olives from a jar. His face swelled up very soon after and he was taken to the vet for treatment and survived with no complications. This was obviously an allergic reaction to the olives but the case above seemed to indicate that the raisons poisened the dog.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Don't think they could possibly be in the same family. One is from a vine, the other from a tree.