Rosie’s Toxic Misadventure

Rosie has poisoned herself.

I should have expected something was awry when she didn’t join me on the couch for our daily session with the laptop.  Ruby was with me but where was Rosie?  But I was engrossed in what was happening in blogsville.  Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw her coming down the stairs.

On the couch and starting to have just a few regrets

On the couch and starting to have just a few regrets


There’s nothing up those stairs except Archie’s lair and the other members of the family, including the dogs, only venture up there when absolutely necessary.

The girls follow me wherever I go and as I’m rarely in Archie’s room, this is not somewhere where you will find them.  And Rosie was slinking down the stairs looking guilty.  When she’s guilty she avoids eye contact and in her mind, she’s invisible.

Being comforted by her mummy but that's one big swollen tummy

Being comforted by her mummy but that’s one big swollen tummy

I picked her up and went up the stairs and it didn’t take me long to find out what she’d been up to.  Archie had left his Easter eggs in a container on his bedroom floor.  Lying on the carpet was a large Easter egg that had been unwrapped and was now covered in carpet fluff.  Beside it was the wrapper of a large bunny.  The only thing remaining of the chocolate bunny was the tips of its ears and somehow 6kg-Rosie couldn’t manage to finish off the ears.

The evidence

The evidence

Now chocolate is toxic for dogs and the darker the chocolate the worse it is so fortunately the bunny was milk chocolate.  I did fear toxic poisoning so I phoned the vet but got the answering machine where I left an urgent message.  In the meantime I googled ‘naughty dogs’ and found that the ingredient, theobromine, becomes toxic at 45-55mg/ounce.  I tried to work out how many ounces of chocolate she had eaten which was near impossible as there wasn’t much left of the wrapper – she probably ate that too.

There's not much left of the bunny

There’s not much left of the bunny

I worked out the bunny was 150gms which is 5 ounces meaning she’d ingested around 250mgs of theobromine which is certainly toxic for a girl of her size.  She was also exhibiting signs of toxicity including a racing heart and tremors.

I phoned the vet again and he said he would see her straightaway.  His practice is just a short walk from where we live so off we went, the three of us (because it wouldn’t be nice for Ruby to miss out on an outing).

The vet was concerned that Rosie had signs of toxicity so he said he needed to give her something to make her vomit.  He took a small black thing out of a container and told me it was a type of morphine.  I thought he was going to put it in her mouth but he put it in her eye (which she didn’t like one bit).  He then said it would take up to 20 minutes to take affect.

Not pleased to be behind bars

Not pleased to be behind bars

But it didn’t.  Rosie was bringing up that chocolate within minutes.  The poor girl heaved and heaved over a bowl and you wouldn’t believe just how much semi-digested chocolate reappeared.  But afterwards, and after the vet had taken the black thing out of her eye, she didn’t get better.  Her heart was beating too rapidly and so he said she needed to stay at the vet’s and be on a drip to try and dilute the remaining chocolate that had passed through to her intestines.

She's asking me if she can come home

She’s asking me if she can come home

Meanwhile, I took Ruby home for a sleep on the couch then went up to the swim centre for Alfie’s swimming lesson.  At 5p we went back to the vet to see how Rosie was recovering.  It wasn’t good news.  The vet hadn’t been able to give her her charcoal tablets as with every attempt, she had bitten him.  I told him she needed her tablets wrapped in mince or cheese and once he produced the cheese, she ate her two charcoal tablets.

But her heart was still racing and the vet said her blood pressure was also extremely high.  She wasn’t allowed to come home as the vet said she needed to be sedated and kept calm.  So tonight she’s all alone at the vet’s and I hope the sedation is enough to keep her asleep and far from fretting.

In the meantime, Ruby is close by my side.  She’s all sad and looking at me with great concern.  I keep shouting into her deaf ears, ‘Rosie will be back soon’, but cuddles are proving more effective than speech.

Hooked up to an IV but with a pretty pink bandage

Hooked up to an IV but with a pretty pink bandage

I’ll be checking in with the vet first thing tomorrow morning and will let you know how my little girl is recovering.

Comments

  1. Oh Charlie, I’m so sorry to hear that! I hope she’s ok tomorrow.. xxx

  2. I’m so sorry to hear about the chocolate misadventure. I hope she comes home tomorrow a wiser and healthier dog.

  3. Oh, I am so sorry! I hope all is going to be OK! Our Boxer was a chocoholic and would find chocolate no matter how well wrapped and hidden. I am sending positive thoughts xxx

  4. Yep that avoiding all eye contact is a sure give-away something untoward has occurred. Poor Rosie hope she feels better in the morning x

  5. I know about the no eye contact. Poor Rosie in jail AND sick. Sending puppy love.

  6. Oh, poor Rosie 🙁 What a horrible experience for her and you. I empathise particularly having been ill myself this week, but it seems that poor Rosie is having a bumpier recovery than I did. I hope she is back to her usual self tomorrow, and that she will be put off chocolate from now on!

  7. Arabella says:

    Poor bosie 🙁

  8. Oh no! I hope she gets well very soon. Poor baby!

  9. Oh no!! My mom’s dog ate some chocolate once and thankfully was okay…but there was a lot of anxious observation that followed. Hope she is doing better this morning!!

  10. Oh no. That’s too bad. Hope she makes a full recovery. One of our dogs once got into rat poison when we were at a lake house. We noticed her very bad breath on the car ride home and discovered her gums were bleeding badly. Luckily she was a good-sized dog, so she was okay.

  11. what a terrible experience – good luck – (by the way, we have been reading enid blyton and they have given chocolate to the dogs chocolate quite a bit – which makes me wonder if it encouraged young children to give their dogs chocolate or perhaps at the time chocolate was too precious to give to dogs)

  12. Oh Charlie, I am so sorry this happened and do hope poor Roxie is up to her old self soon. Easter and halloween are one of the worst times for dogs to have this issue. Fingers crossed you get a thumbs up and can take her home tomorrow.

  13. Ah, poor sweet Rosie. I hope her condition is improved when you arrive this a.m.

  14. Oh Charlie, hope Rosie recovers soon, she is such an adorable dog.
    We had this problem ones with our beagle ( well known for their huge appetite) Buster.
    He recovered soon, but let me warn you, – lesson not learned – he did it again the next Christmas!

  15. Oh Charlie! We’re thinking of you. I can’t imagine having to wait all night to know. That poor little thing. Do keep us posted. Hugs to you and cuddles to Ruby.

  16. Oh my lord….poor poor baby…:( I am so praying she feels better soon. She is adorable, and I know she must feel really lonely at the vet.

    It’s so unfair…for chocolate to be toxic for dogs. I am paranoid over it, because my dogs would seek any excuse to get a bite. And though they are almost 20X size of Rosie, I still get scared even if they get a single bite. I can’t imagine what poor Rosie is going through. Hope this trauma keeps her from sneaking up on chocolates.

  17. Poor little sweetie. Hope she is better soon.

  18. That’s terrible Charlie, I know how fond of the girls you are! I do wish Rosie a speedy recovery.

  19. Oh, no!!! I hope Rosie will be home with you ASAP. Lambeau did love her sweets, too 🙁

  20. Oh poor little girl! Hope she’s much better today x

  21. Oh the poor little thing! I hope she’ll be ok. Maybe Archie should hold a gig to raise money towards the vet bill, although I’m surprised a perpetually hungry Uni student had any chocolate left so long after Easter 🙂 xox

  22. Keeping fingers crossed that the sedation and time overnight has brought about a big improvement. Been there with my very naughty corgi: by the time Charlie was vomiting blood I thought it all over – next day his voracious appetite was all back 🙂 !

    • Thanks Eha. It was a close one. For her weight she ingested enough theobromide to give her seizures. Thankfully it didn’t get that bad because then she would have been intubated and put on a respirator and needed a very long period of recovery. She’s home now but very tired and she looks very sad and sorry.

      • Tomorrow hopefully better with all the family love!!! [Am not trying to be one iota funny when saying I say this chocolate business happen on ‘Bondi Vet’! Close to intubation also!!] Shall keep fingers and toes crossed whilst watching the Giro tonight . . .

  23. Oh lordy! I hope things work out okay and the little one is better soon! xox

  24. Oh poor Rosie. I had no idea chocolate was toxic for dogs. I do hope she recovers well.

  25. Praying that Rosie is completely healed by morning!

  26. Oh know….. I am hoping that by now, she is home with you. Sending you lots and lots of positive hugs to you all….. 🙁

  27. Danielle says:

    So sorry to hear about poor Rosie, I hope she is feeling much better and more herself today after that nasty experience. X

  28. I’m so sorry to hear this, as I suspect was Archie – and not for altogether altruistic reasons.
    I sincerely hope she’s made a full recovery by now.

  29. Oh Charlie, I’m so sorry your girl is so sick from the chocolate. Poor dear. Sending you lots of healing thoughts.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  30. Oh no what a horrible thing to happen. I know the panic all too well as my Ruby once at all of the Easter eggs( dark chocolate) stashed under a bed (hidden) and another time 1 kg of white chocolate which only made her fat and later on contributed to diabetes. Hope your baby will be fine x

  31. Oh my goodness, no! I’m so sorry. I’m a day or two behind so perhaps I’m going to get my answer very quickly, with great hopes that she’s fine. I watched my son’s dog go through the poisoning from chocolate and it was pretty nasty. His dog is very large compared to Rosie, though, which definitely helped in the toxicity being less threatening. I’m so glad you were home and alert to the problem. What an ordeal! ox

  32. Poor girls… 🙁 xo

  33. Catching up with all my reading and feel so sorry for Rosie looking at the pictures. Saw something on IG but didn’t realize what a big deal it was. Glad she has recovered and is a healthy little doggie again!

  34. Omg more Rosie 🙁 That’s horrible!!! I need to be very careful where I leave the chocolate because i’m so worried that cupcake will accidentally eat it.

    But I hope she’s feeling much better now!

  35. AWHhhh… It just doesnt seem fair that chocolate isnt good for dogs. Sorry Rosie had to go through that awful experience. Thats the worst. Hope she is feeling better now.

  36. Poor Rosie! I’m sure everything will be fine, but do let us know how she gets on.

  37. Aw, poor Rosie… I knew about that chocolate problem for dogs… always amazes me how many people let their dogs eat chocolate (I mean on purpose, as in – “here dog, have some of my chocolate”… not accidental cases like yours obviously).

    I hope she has recovered!

  38. Oh no!!! Poor Rosie 🙁 I’m sure she regretted eating the chocolate later…hopefully it will keep her out of it next time. I hope she got better.

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  1. […] first I have to tell you all about how Rosie is recovering.  I was allowed to bring her home from the animal hospital on Saturday morning.  The vet said […]

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