As Easter approaches, vet charity PDSA is warning all pet owners to ensure chocolate is kept well out of paws’ reach. The warning comes after the charity helped save a one-year-old Crossbreed dog who ate a whopping 1kg of mini eggs after jumping past a stair gate.
The owners of Labrador/Staffie cross Charlie caught her red-pawed with the now empty bag of chocolate eggs in her mouth, and immediately called PDSA as Charlie appeared ‘subdued’. By the time they made it to to Bournemouth PDSA Pet Hospital, Charlie had vomited five times at home, and continued to be sick during the car journey.
“SYMPTOMS USUALLY APPEAR WITHIN TWO TO FOUR HOURS BUT CAN TAKE UP TO 12 HOURS”
PDSA Vet, Clare Sparks, said, “We were suspicious that there could be even more chocolate left in Charlie’s stomach, so we gave her an injection to make her sick to empty her stomach completely, and she brought up lots more chocolate vomit.
“Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine, which is perfectly safe for humans, but toxic for dogs, cats and rabbits. The seriousness of poisoning depends on how much chocolate your pet has eaten, how big they are, and the cocoa content – the darker the chocolate the more toxic it is for your pet.”
Charlie began to perk up soon after the injection, and was able to return home to recover – but not all dogs as so lucky.
Clare adds, “Symptoms of chocolate poisoning usually appear within two to four hours but can take up to 12 hours. In severe cases, toxicity can cause:
- Fast breathing or panting
- Shaking, trembling and tremors
- High temperature (fever)
- Seizures
- A fast heart rate
- High blood pressure
“The most severe cases of chocolate poisoning in pets can lead to heart failure, coma and even death. Although this is rare this is why it’s really important to keep chocolate safely away from prying paws. Especially during festivities like Easter when there’s likely more chocolate than usual in the house – with over 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK each year.”
“APOMORPHINE, A TREATMENT USED FOR CHOCOLATE AND RAISIN TOXICITY, SEES AN AVERAGE INCREASE IN USE OF 23% AROUND EASTER”
She added, “At our Pet Hospitals, Apomorphine, a treatment used for chocolate and raisin toxicity, sees an average increase in use of 23% It can cost as much as £300.40 to treat a dog for chocolate poisoning. On average it costs £40.00 to treat a small size dog, such as a miniature dachshund, and £200 for a medium sized dog for chocolate poisoning.”