Story: Activated charcoal for dinner

[CarolC]

Thursday night I took my paralyzed dog for a walk over at the school on the patio where they had had a graduation party. There was debris and bits of food on the ground. We came to a chocolate egg about 1 1/8" long wrapped in pretty aqua foil. She was admiring it and so was I, and little did I ever expect--she picked it up in her mouth. It was so big I was surprised she could close her mouth all the way. I thought surely she would spit it out because it was so big and covered in foil, but as I bent down over her she chewed about 3 times and swallowed it whole! Yikes!!! This was not funny. I scooped her up, checked my watch, and ran to the car and drove home.

Then I left her in the car while I called the emergency clinic. They said it had to be 1 oz for every lb to be a problem, did I know how many ounces it was? No. Dark or light chocolate? Don't know. I didn't know if it was hollow or solid either. It was just lying there on the ground. She said just to watch her, it wasn't that much.

Then I called the other emergency clinic and they said some dogs react badly to chocolate and others not so badly, so I should probably bring her in.

Then I called the National Pet Poison hotline ($55) and a veterinary toxicologist in Illinois said just to be safe, I could give her 1 tsp of hydrogen peroxide. I said I didn't think I could get it down her, but if he thought it was worth trying to make her throw up with peroxide then I would take her to the emergency clinic.

At the clinic we got a doctor I knew who was *very* nice. She said they could give her something to make her throw up and something to coat her stomach. So they put morphine in her eye (apomorphine, the vet called it just apo) and she said she would throw up in 15 minutes or less if it was going to work, but some dogs don't respond to apo. 10 minutes later she came out of the exam room and said she had thrown up a big glob of chocolate but no foil. (Hurray!!!) I was SO relieved. Never mind the foil.

Then they gave her some dog food with activated charcoal mixed in. It looked exactly like the wet charcoal bits in the bottom of the barbecue after you pour water on it, yuck. She wouldn't eat it for them so they gave me the dish and left me alone in the room to see if she'd eat it. So I was standing there holding this bowl of black glop in one hand and my dog under the other arm, and I could feel her tail wagging against my waist. She almost never (like once every 6 months) wags her tail, but chocolate and morphine can both act as stimulants. Anyway, she ate the whole dish of charcoal and food, which was a larger portion than I ever feed her, she's only 6 lbs. Then they charged us $158, which is small for an emergency bill, and we went home.

I don't know if she was ever really in danger, maybe the amount of chocolate was too small to pose a risk, but I was glad it came up.

However, now she is constipated. I just read that activated charcoal causes constipation--I can testify to that. I gave her a dose of Reglan and nothing. I gave her a double dose of lactulose and still nothing. I will give her more lactulose tomorrow.

She ate fine today, and seems to feel fine. But I am waiting till that foil and charcoal come on through. There's just nothing in her bottom right now.

[Carol T.]

Her dinner sounds yummy!!! You poor thing! If it's not one thing, it's another!! At just 6 pounds, it probably IS a good thing you took measures to bring it up. With any kind of luck, she'll present you with a nice, foil-wrapped poop!!

[Cody's Mom]

Hey Carol C,

Next time you may want to try the hydrogen peroxide at home and save yourself the vet bill. You don't have to get much at all down them and boy, does it work fast!!! Like get your shoes out of the way or they'll be covered. I'm serious - you will have results in 20 seconds or less.

Many years ago, I had to do this to Cody -can't even remember what I thought he'd gotten into, but it is a very cheap remedy and highly effective and getting regurgitation. You don't have to work at making them drink it -just pry open the mouth if they won't open and pour a little bit down. They will have no choice but to swallow. It doesn't take much.

Glad you got rid of the chocolate.

Much love,

Cody's forever proud Mom

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

GabrielDeafBlindPup climbed onto kitchen counter and got a bag of kisses. like your pup, foil and all. Doc had told me years ago that they would have to eat a LOT for it to be toxic. Gabriel had no ill effects but he outweighs your baby by about 40 lbs.. But the peroxide is a wonder tip for all that this pup does get into, including all kitchen cupboards, even those 4 feet off the ground.

[critters]

Been there, done chocolate poisoning. For TK, about a 6 pound kitty, chocolate puke and chocolate diarrhea were the main events, but she ate a TON of it during that night.

Guess y'all are pooped today!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

[Dianne]

[Robyn]

Molasses helps babies/children who are constipated. I think it's okay for dogs to take as well, but I don't know. I believe molasses is used to flavor some doggie treats. For a small dog, probably a teaspoon with some water should do the trick, and give it an hour or so to work.

[Jean]

Carol,
Glad your little Chi is better. It is certainly better to be safe than sorry.

City my cat ate 1 1/2 boxes of D-Con rat poisoning when I first found him. I took him to the vet and they gave him the medication you mentioned by IV but he never would throw up. She said it is oftentimes difficult to get a cat to throw up. Then, they gave him a Vitamin K shot and sent him home with 6 weeks of Vitamin K pills. The bill was sure a WHOOPER.

Several years before that my Cocker Sam got into several packages of hot Cocoa mix. A parent had given me some for a Christmas present. The vet recommended the hydrogen peroxide treatment that was mentioned earlier. I tried it and he vomited a lot. However, after that I could not get him to eat for several days. Then, his mouth started to bleed. The vet said that his mouth was burned from the hydrogen peroxide and he was on IV's for 3 days. What a bill! It was difficult to write a Thank you note to the parents after such an experience.

Good to know that they have meds that they can put into their eyes to make them vomit.

Good luck with all your "furry kids"!! /Jean

[CarolC]