Dog owners warned against sharing popular Easter treat with pets
A Brisbane vet has warned dog owners to be wary of an Easter treat - and she is not referring to chocolate.
The Animal Referral Hospital Brisbane’s medicine specialist Dr Emily Cook told Yahoo7 dog owners should keep their pooches away from hot cross buns because “even one could be lethal”.
“The raisins are the problem and we’re not sure exactly why,” Dr Cook said.
“Some dogs are fine and others develop acute kidney problems.
“Being Easter, more products are on the market at the moment and people like to just toss their dog a bit of raisin toast or a hot cross bun at breakfast, but even one raisin could be lethal."
Dr Cook said she had seen a number of dog owners come to the hospital in the past both aware and unaware their canines had ingested raisins.
“If they get in early enough, we can make the dog vomit,” she said.
In a Facebook post, the hospital’s emergency and critical care director - Dr Monique Stanley - wrote scientists agree both the flesh and skin was poisonous to canines and referred to a recent case where a dog named Ellie had to be rushed to hospital after eating an entire loaf of raisin bread.
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“Her owners brought her to our ARH emergency hospital in Sinnamon Park [in Brisbane] after they noticed the loaf missing,” she wrote.
“Ellie seemed happy and healthy, however, if left untreated she would likely have developed symptoms of kidney failure such as vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness, increased thirst and abdominal pain.”
The hospital helped Ellie bring up the contents of her stomach before monitoring her kidneys via blood tests. She was then placed on a drip for 24 hours.
“Ellie was one of the lucky ones whose experience left her with no ongoing medical issues,” Dr Stanley wrote.
“Take it from her though, as tasty as they look it’s best that your furry mate keeps clear of hot cross buns this Easter.”
Dr Cook also said sharing Easter eggs with dogs was a bad idea because a chemical in chocolate, theobromine, “can cause seizes, heart palpitations and even death”.
She added the symptoms after ingesting chocolate come on within hours - much quicker than when dogs eat raisins and grapes, which normally show within 24 to 48 hours.
