Just over a month after euthanizing our older dog because of her stroke, we almost lost our second dog. Our most accomplished thief, she opened Mom’s purse to steal an unopened box of dark chocolate raisinets, and ate them box and all. She had stolen and eaten a box of dark chocolate before with no ill effects, and she didn’t seem to be having any problems with her most recent theft. But then we realized how much worse raisins were after I called the ASPCA Pet Poisoning hotline ($75). Potential blockages from the packaging aside, that box was probably within the lethal dose range for a dog her size. As they told us, don’t wait for the onset of symptoms with grapes & raisins- it could be too late if you do.
Fortunately, we got her to the 24 hour vet relatively quickly. We don’t know exactly when she got the candy, but because we had been in and out of the room near the purse, we were relatively sure that she was being seen less than 2 hours after ingestion. So she’s getting a $2100, 48 hour stay at the vet as they give her meds via IV. The updates have all been positive and they expect to send her home mid-day Monday.