craftygirl002
Tacoma, WA
age: 40
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We all know anti-freeze is poison and can kill your pets. The sweet flavor makes it appealing to animals. Now that the kids will be going back to school, people will start winterizing their RV's so they can put them back in storage for the year. It will get cold soon, so people will start winterizing their vehicles. It's a high-risk time for poisoning.
I spent yesterday at the vet's with my little dog. His blood work was indicative of anti-freeze poisoning. The only problem is, he's always with me & always on-leash. The only way he could have received a dose high enough to produce the results we were seeing is if someone tainted the food in his bowl in my office. That's litterally the only thing that goes into his mouth that I don't have 24/7 control over. Since it's unlikely that a co-worker deliberately poisoned my dog, the vet and I are choosing to believe it's likely something else. (There's a couple of possibilities.)
I wanted to share with you the symptoms I was seeing that caused me to take Chester to the Dr. so you'll know what to look for. Chester wasn't eating or drinking as much as normal, but he was still eating and drinking. He seemed tired, was irritable & barking more than normal. He lost 0.3 lbs (he's only 7.5 lbs, so that's significant). He seemed a bit clumsier than usual and would miss the mark when jumping because he jumped too early, or not high enough. All of his symptoms could easily be explained away by saying that he's just tired due to our new longer commute, but overall he just seemed 'off'. Since I have him on the Banfield Wellness Plan, it doesn't cost me extra for an office visit to take him in. I took him in just to be sure, but felt a little foolish doing so. Imagine my surprise when the lab results came back. I was shocked when the vet said I would have probably spent last night or today at the emergency vet's dealing with kidney failure if I hadn't brought him in.
Chester's symptoms were subtle. I even wondered if I was overreacting to what I was seeing by taking him in. It's not hard to imagine a single mom or dad missing the same symptoms in their dog or cat when dealing with the daily challenges of raising kids, working full time, etc.
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copterdriver2
Irmo, SC
age: 56
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Does he like pancakes?
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craftygirl002
Tacoma, WA
age: 40
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Hey there! Haven't seen you in awhile. Yes, he likes pancakes. One of these days I might just work up the nerve to smuggle him into IHOP.
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copterdriver2
Irmo, SC
age: 56
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IHOP would freak out... lol I let a wandering young dog into the bar I frequent the other day and everyone was trying to take her home, she disappeared faster than she apppeared.
Hey yerself... looks like Chester has you wrapped around his paw pretty good...
I was going to make a comment about the "crazy dog lady" statement you made, but I know how pets can be...
Hope you are doing great!
Antifreeze and the gum are definitely dangerous around dogs.... not sure about the gum for cats though.(threadworthy)
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