Raisins are among the many potentially dangerous foods that might be on offer during upcoming celebrations
A hungry hound required an emergency dash to the vets after wolfing down a whole plate of coronation chicken sandwiches.
The sneaky snack was packed with raisins, which can prove fatal to dogs. But thankfully two-year-old Cavachon Mango recovered after treatment at Vets Now’s Bristol clinic.
Coronation chicken was invented to mark the Queen’s coronation in 1953 and is among the dishes sure to feature as part of next month’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
But vets are warning of the potentially deadly dangers it can pose, as well as other party food ingredients like onions and snacks like chocolate, and many other human foods. Alcohol is dangerous, corn on the cobs can cause blockages and barbecue skewers can be lethal.
Styling assistant Alice Kay was on a Jubilee photo shoot in Bristol when disaster struck.
“Mango was with me as she was going to be in one of the shots, her first ‘modelling job’,” said Alice, from Devon.
“We were all out in the garden at the location house, Mango included, but I lost sight for what seemed like just a few seconds and remembered all the food had been laid out inside.
“I ran in and found her sitting licking her lips and one of the plates of finger sandwiches had all gone. She had yellow all round her mouth and I knew she had eaten the lot.
“When I checked a finger sandwich on another plate, I counted seven raisins and realised she could easily have eaten over 20 between all the sandwiches.
“I panicked as I was aware that raisins are really toxic for dogs. And as she is so small and had eaten a lot, I knew I needed help fast.”
As Alice was far from her own vets, she quickly called Vets Now and was told to get her to the Bristol clinic as quickly as possible.
The clinic is one of more than 60 Vets Now clinics and hospitals across the UK that are open seven days a week for out-of-hours pet emergencies.
“Eating raisins can be really serious for dogs,” said Mandisa Greene, medical director at Vets Now. “They can cause acute renal failure and even death.
“Even a very small amount can be dangerous and in Mango’s case she had eaten quite a number. The team gave her an injection right away to make her sick and she brought up the sandwiches, including the raisins.”
Mango needed to be put on a fluid drip, kept in overnight under close observation and then given a treatment course of activated charcoal to help counteract any ill effects.
Alice was just relieved to have her pet home and is backing Vets Now’s calls for owners to be especially careful over the Jubilee celebrations when there is a lot more food around.
“It was such a scary thing,” said Alice. “The staff at the clinic were so calm and reassuring and the treatment was brilliant. I dread to think what could have happened if the team hadn’t been able to help me so quickly.
“No pet owner wants to be facing an emergency when they should be having fun celebrating the Platinum Jubilee, so I’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on Mango to avoid any more emergency visits.”
All of Vets Now’s premises have a vet and vet nurse on site.
We also offer an online video consultation service to make professional veterinary advice more easily available.
While the service is not suitable for life-threatening emergencies, our experienced vets are available to discuss any worries or concerns you might have.