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RAISIN POISONING IN DOGS (sad story very informative)
(Below written by a vet)
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 who 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 - 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 Ã,½ 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 creatine 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 incr ease 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 creatine 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.
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville , Ohio
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Note that the article says both raisins & grapes. Fortunately for me I had a happy ending to my experience
with it. I have a new "to me" puppy, now 8 months old. Recieved the pup Jan. 2nd. As with
all pups he is very curious about things & is interested in anything that looks or tastes interesting. About a week
after he became a member of my family I was getting my lunch ready & had set my cutlery etc., out on a TV table so I could
watch something I wanted to see on TV while eating. With my cutlery I also had placed 2 pills that I was supposed to
take with my meals. One was a heavy duty herbal pill called "Vision", which I had been instructed to take for my Macular
Degeneration. When I returned to the TV table just a couple of minutes later, pup was right there, interested in what
was going on (& is tall enough to reach the top of a TV table when standing on his hind legs) - - Then I noticed that
the Vision pill was gone. There was only 1 answer because I knew it had been there just minutes before.
To begin with, I didn't really think too much about it, not thinking there would be anything much of harm in such a herbal
pill. But as the day progressed, the pup started to act unwell. He started to get very lethargic, more so all the time.
Then I noticed he had a quite warm & dry nose & he was obviously feeling ill. So I phoned my vet. I told
him about it & what I was fairly sure the pup had eaten, & read out to him the contents on the pill bottle & their
amounts. He told me that the only thing that would cause him trouble in the pill would be the 50mg's of Grapeseed extract.
He told me then that they recently have found that grapes are toxic for dogs & the more concentrated they are, the worse
they are. As it was too late to have him throw up now, he told me to make up a little dish of mashed potatoes.
Add just a bit of milk & a very small amount of butter & mix it all up well & give it to him & fortunately
pup was with it enough to be quite interested in eating it. The vet said that the mashed potatoes will work like a very soft
brush & will sweep the intestine, getting rid of anything that is lightly toxic or bothersome. Two hours later
he was just about (but not quite) better. Then another couple of hours after that again & he had pretty well
returned to normal. Just thought I'd add this so just in case you haven't heard about the toxicity of grapes,
that anyone who has a dog can be forewarned.
Barb.
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