PETE WEDDERBURN Animal Doctor
taken immediately to the emergency team where she was given an injection to cause her to vomit: this successfully removed all the chocolate from her stomach before it could be absorbed into her bloodstream, and she went on to have a peaceful, uneventful Christmas break. That must have been the most expensive box of chocolates that her owner had ever not eaten. This year, all chocolates are going to be kept well out of Susie’s reach: dogs are clever at sniffing out chocolate even if it is wrapped in pretty paper in a parcel surrounded by other presents. The safest way is to remove all chocolate box type of presents and store them out of dogs’ reach.
Third, a Collie called Connie had another classic seasonal problem later on, at around 8pm on Christmas night. She developed severe gastroenteritis, with repeated episodes of vomiting and diarrhoea, after eating a plateful of rich Christmas food. Her owner thought she was being kind, giving Connie some turkey, gravy, potatoes, cranberry sauce, sprouts and carrots. Connie certainly enjoyed it, wolfing it down and looking for more. But her digestive system was not at all happy with this influx of unfamiliar foodstuffs, which is why the reaction was so dramatic. Connie had to have some injections, tablets and rehydrating fluids from the emergency vet, but she went on to make a full recovery. And this year, she’ll be getting no more than 10% of her Christmas meal as “human dinner” – this is the safe rule of thumb for dogs and cats. They just don’t do well when given large quantities of food that they’re not accustomed to.
So that was last year’s three emergencies from our clinic. We didn’t see any of the other Christmas hazards that I mention in the media.No puppies electrocuted by chewing Christmas tree lights. No dogs being poisoned by eating grapes or swallowing Christmas tree ornaments. No cats suffering from the toxic effects of licking lily pollen off their coats. And it so happened that we didn’t see any of the normal, non-seasonal problems that can arise: animals can fall ill at any time. The body doesn’t know that it’s Christmas.
The chances are that we’ll see a similar selection of ailments this year. To make your own Christmas smoother, make sure that you don’t let any of the common, preventable Christmas crises happen in your house. Have a lovely Christmas, everyone!