I told you all that I’d tell you a little story about my boy Butters.
Christmas of 2008 my friends at Direxxis sent me a box of chocolates. I shared the majority of it at the office and brought some home to enjoy. On December 29, 2008, I arrived home and thought one of the dogs had had an accident. The carpet was a mess! But it wasn’t what you thought. I couldn’t figure it out.
I fed the dogs — Finley, Butters and Lula. And that’s when I noticed Butters white socks were dusted with cocoa. So I called the Emergency Vet and asked what I should do.
As I was talking with them, I figured out how MUCH chocolate he ingested. He really went on a chocolate bender that would’ve inspired Willy Wonka’s Oompah Loompahs to burst into song! He ate:
- 6 chocolate covered OREO cookies
- 24 chocolates
- a BOX of Hershey’s Baking Cocoa! ( I couldn’t believe it! He could’ve chosen the powdered sugar or graham cracker crumbs, instead, he chose nasty baking cocoa. That’s what exploded on the carpet!)
Frankly, it was a miracle he wasn’t already dead.
When Butters started shaking, I knew I had to take him in. I scooped up Butters, grabbed Lula and kissed good ol’ Fin’ (the best dog EVER!) on the head and dashed to to the Vet ER.
There, they took Butters into the back to evaluate him. The doctor came out and prepared me for the worst. I didn’t want to hear that. I told the doctor to do whatever it took to make him better. The Veterinary Assistant was a godsend.
First, they induced vomiting to get the chocolate out of his system. They invited me into the back to see everything they got out of him. He really went bonkers while I was out! In addition to the chocolate, he had bits of wrappers and the finger of my brand new riding glove in his tummy.
Then they gave him meds to stop vomiting so they could give him lots of activated charcoal to absorb the remaining toxins. All this was accompanied by 2 bags of fluids. They even put jingle bells around his neck to alert them if he had a seizure.
I felt so bad for my boy. I didn’t want to leave, so I sat with Lula in the waiting area from 9:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. We’d tried to sit with Butters, but that made him anxious, so we left and waited in the waiting area, drinking the staff’s coffee and watching other families bring in their beloved pets. Meanwhile, Finley was at home sleeping like 14 1/2 year old golden retrievers do. After watching virtually every video in their video library, the veterinary assistant came out and said, “Here’s his picture. On a scale from 1-10, 10 being best, Butters came in around a 2+. Now he’s at about a 6+ and climbing. So why don’t you go home and get some rest. I promise to call you if anything happens.”
Reluctantly, I said, “I suppose you’re right.” Afterall, I hadn’t looked in on Finley since I left at 9:30 p.m. So Lula and I went home. I fell straight asleep and about 8 a.m. I got a call. On the other end was another Veterinary Assistant relaying the latest: “Hi! This is the animal hospital. Butters is doing great.”
Me: “Oh, that’s wonderful. Thank you.”
Veterinary Assistant: “Yes, he’s feeling MUCH better. Say, we were wondering WHEN do you think you can come pick up Butters?”
I got it. I’d heard that tone before. I heard it at the beach when a little boy named Scotty was terrorizing the lifeguards in the Tower. I couldn’t help it; I started laughing.
So, I rolled out of bed, got dressed and went to go pick him up. When I walked in, I heard him protesting being locked in a cage. When I said, “I’m here for Butters.” the staffers breathed a sigh of relief.
He BURST through the door and leapt on me as if to say, “MOMMY, YOU’RE HERE!!!!!!!” He slept the rest of the day as expected. The bright lights in the ER didn’t allow him to get sleep.
I asked if he’d ever be tempted to eat chocolate again. Doctor said, “Probably.”
About a year later, my cousin brought a Mocha Frappuccino into the house and set it on the table. We walked down the hallway. When we came back the Frappuccino was missing and so was Butters. We have no idea how he got the cup off the table without spilling, but we found him hiding behind the shed lapping up the frappuccino in the farthest corner of the yard!
Here’s the thing: Butters suffered from Chocolate Toxicity. Chocolate contains theobromine that is toxic to dogs in sufficient quantities. Learn more here: http://www.talktothevet.com/ARTICLES/DOGS/chocolatetoxic.HTM
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