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'dog ~ Raisin ~ ~ 039 ~ The Alert ~ raisins'

By: iSnare Articles

".....Chumley, a beautiful 5-year-old Lab/hound mix, had eaten a brand new 15-ounce package of rai..........dog,raisins,grapes,health,toxic,pets,food....."

IT'S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT THAT GRAPES AND RAISINS ARE TOXIC TO DOGS

“Chumley was a rascally guyHe had a mind of his own,” said Seth Silverton, Chumley’s guardian in Rockland, Maine. But what Chumley ate that primordial his untimely demise was not a household chemical or anything overtly dangerous. Perhaps that mischievous spirit is what led Chumley to climb onto the countertop that day. The Silvertons, like numerous other families with dogs, had on no occasion heard that raisins could be poisonous to their family pet.

When Silverton returned home from work that evening, Chumley was lethargic—and vomiting. It was a homely breakfast topping that Silverton’s daughter had sprinkled on her oatmeal that morning.

Chumley, a beauteous 5-year-old Lab/hound mix, had eaten a brand new 15-ounce package of raisins. Jessica immediately called Seth to take Chumley to the animal hospital.

Silverton couldn’t that raisins could make a dog sick. When the vomiting continued into the next morning, Silverton’s wife, Jessica, began searching the Internet to find out if raisins could be poisonous to dogs.

“Jessica had that ‘Oh my God’ moment when she discovered that there is an extremely high mortality from what is known in the vet nature as ARF—Acute Renal Failure,” Silverton said.

ARF occurs in some dogs who have consumed grapes or raisins. They crushed any rely on the Silverton family had when they said, “I have bad word for you. A call to his local vet for the moment relieved his concerns when a search of the vet’s own toxicology books revealed nothing about raisin toxicity in dogs.

When Chumley continued to get worse, Silverton called the Eastern Maine Emergency Veterinary Clinic in Brewer. The trend of poisonings was noticed first on every side 1989 when dogs that had eaten the fruit developed ARF, also known as kidney failure.

Between January 2001 and August 2004, more than 200 calls were productive of to the Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) involving dogs that had potentially eaten grapes or raisins.

The exact mechanism by which grapes and raisins cause kidney fault is still unknown. It doesn’t look like your dog is going to make it.”

RAISIN TOXICITY

It turns out that raisins—and grapes—can be poisonous to dogs. Even when grapes were consumed off the vine in a family’s backyard, homeowners’ claims were that no pesticides or fertilizers had been used.

Poisonings have occurred from both seeded and seedless grapes, and from fruit purchased from a grocery treasure and picked off the vine. Theories include pesticides, heavy metals, or mycotoxins (fungal material) on the skin of the grapes, but the fruit implicated in the deaths of the dogs has been tested and returned with negative results. The amount a dog needs to eat to cause illness varies. Nor does the variety of grape or brand of raisin seem

to matter. Vomiting every moment occurs within the first few hours and the partially digested grapes or raisins are frequently found in the vomit and fecal material. Poisonings have been documented to occur in dogs who have eaten anywhere from a single serving to a pound of raisins.

What are the symptoms of grape and raisin poisoning? Sensitive dogs have a risk of initial gastrointestinal upset, followed by acute renal failure. These signs can continue from several days to several weeks.

If treatment isn’t sought immediately, ARF can develop within 24 to 72 hours. Subsequent symptoms may include diarrhea, depression, excessive thirst and signs of abdominal pain. Once urine is no longer being produced, most dogs die or must be euthanized.

Without understanding exactly how raisins and grapes cause toxicity, all cases of ingestion should be considered potentially dangerous. When the kidneys fail, a dog’s body is unable to filter the blood and banishment waste in the urine. For a dog that is known to have ingested raisins or grapes, inducing vomiting and administering activated charcoal helps to prevent absorption of potential toxins. However, today, with a better understanding of the symptoms and progression of the illness, dogs can be treated successfully to prevent ARF.

The key is object recognition and decontamination. Blood tests revealed that 'Chumley had numbers in multiple of tens of where they should have been. In all cases of ingestion, however, a veterinarian should be contacted immediately to forage professional medical attention.

A MIRACULOUS DOG

After the Silvertons learned that the raisins he ate had poisoned Chumley, they immediately took him to the vet. “He really was a miraculous dog.”

The Silvertons found Chumley at the Knox County Animal Shelter, where they went to choose a dog for their son AJ’s ninth birthday. Absolutely nothing but willpower was keeping this dog going to the end,” said Silverton. Kept in a pen off to one side of the other dogs, he was the most gorgeous dog Silverton had ever seen.

Because Chumley had arrived at the shelter only the day before the Silvertons found him, they had to allow the owner an opportunity to claim the dog. Chumley, a stray at the shelter who was 2 or 3 years old, was a “fox red color, sporting Lab, but with a narrower head,” Silverton said. “They realize they are in a bad spot and they love being rescued. A week later, on AJ’s birthday, Chumley was taken home.

“I reflect there is something about dogs that we rescue,” Silverton said. And they are just happy they are in a benefit pack and it reflects in their behavior.”

Nine-year-old AJ, however, had a hard time understanding why Chumley was sick. [They have] an innate sense that the pack they were with before was a bad situation, and the pack they are with now is a advantage situation. This is God’s plan. His father told him, “Listen, this is not our plan. “Nobody told Chumley to go and eat that stuff. God has a proposal for everybody and this is just how Chumley fits into God’s plan.”

“Can’t we change God’s plan?” AJ asked.

Silverton told his son that he could try—as stubborn as he could—but it’s not up to us. “We went out for a walk. There is no blame to be assigned here.” Silverton thinks AJ understood that.

Chumley died just over one week eating the box of raisins. It took all he could do to go another tetragonal or five feet and I carried him into the house and put him down. He lay down in the mediate of it. Harry and the family are enrolled in Red Cross CPR/First Aid and observance classes. He just lay down in the corner and went peacefully.”

MOVING FORWARD

The Silverton family has a new creamy Lab puppy, Harry. If you fail to do that as a dog owner, you are being negligent.”

Silverton added, “I had a bit of negligence in myself I thought, ‘I’m capable of training this dog.’ To an extent, you can train the dog to sit, or not go to the bathroom in the house. If there is one parableADJ Shapeliness to be learned out of all of this, Silverton thinks it is the weight of acquisition professional resignation training with your dog.

“If Chumley’s beautiful taught me anything, it’s that you need to set a level of waiting for that dog and to set boundaries. I guess that is kind of a best case scenario to contemplate about it.”

Silverton stressed that forewarned is forearmed, and that it is important to have knowledge about what can hurt a dog. But, if you can’t train a dog that it is unacceptable to jump on the counter and if you can’t have a dog looking to you for direction, and you’re not dictating what that dog should be doing...

“Maybe if we’d had Chumley since he was a puppy, and had he known that it was unacceptable, even in our absence, to jump up on a countertop and eat those raisins, then he might still be with us today. It is your responsibility as a dog owner to ensure your dog is safe,” said Silverton. Whether it’s keeping your dog on a leash pending you’re out for a walk or understanding the dangers all round the household, such as raisins and grapes, if you know of something that is an imminent threat, and you don’t set in order for it, then you are the one at fault.

“Read as much as you can to protect you, your family and your dog. Whether it’s keeping your dog on a leash pending you’re out for a walk or understanding the dangers all round the household, such as raisins and grapes, if you know of something that is an imminent threat, and you don’t set in order for it, then you are the one at fault.

“Read as much as you can to protect you, your family and your dog...." _____________________________________________

Article Source: http://www.unique-ezine-articles.com

Holly Sherburne is the publisher of Downeast Dog News, a free monthly newspaper for people who love dogs. Downeast Dog News... because dog news is good news!