Ellie & Hank

Saturday morning I decided to clean the pantry and threw out an old box of Raisin Bran. It was on top of the trash can and our 10 month old puppy,Hank, pulled it down to the floor. Our other dog, Ellie, joined Hank in the unexpected treat.  When I saw the mess I scolded them, cleaned it up and then Googled ‘raisins+dogs’.  I vaguely remembered seeing a Tweet or Facebook post about grapes & raisins not being good for dogs. Well my heart sank when I read how toxic they can be. Raisins are worse than grapes because they are far more concentrated.

I immediately called the closest vet I could think of and thankfully Windansea veterinary clinic was open.  They requested we bring the dogs in for treatment. The consumption of grapes and raisins can cause dogs to develop acute renal failure (the sudden development of kidney failure). With early detection Dogs who ingest grapes and raisins can be treated successfully to prevent its development. The first line of defense is decontamination. Dr. Dina Raichel was very reassuring and explained how inducing vomiting and administering activated charcoal would help prevent absorption of toxins. So we had hank & Ellie hospitalized so they could administer this treatment and evaluate them for the day. You are also encouraged to have the vet monitor blood chemistry daily for at least three days following the ingestion. If all blood work is normal after three days, it’s unlikely that kidney failure will occur. The good news is a dog can make a complete recovery from this potentially fatal condition.

6911 La Jolla Blvd. La Jolla

It was a long day waiting to hear if the Hank & Ellie were going to be ok.  Luckily the treatment plan worked and the dogs doing fine two days later. We are very grateful to Dr. Raichel and her staff for their quick response and reassurance when we were panicking. We look forward to future ‘routine’ visits when dogs are healthy & calm.

If you live in La Jolla and looking for a vet I highly recommend this practice. They treated our dogs as if they were their own. The team at Windansea clinic were recently voted La Jolla’s best veterinary clinic.

We know you love your pets too and encourage everyone to check out the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center website to learn what can be toxic.

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