Raisins and/or Grapes and Your Dog's WellBeing by Linda Bonney

Your Pet vs Grapes and/or Raisins

I recently came across a letter written by Laurinda Morris, DVM, of the Danville Veterinary Clinic in Danville, Ohio. She said in her letter that the information should be passed on to anyone who owned a dog or even knew someone that did. As I feel that it contains some extremely important information for all dog owners, I would like to share some of her comments with you:
Her patient was a 56-pound, 5 year old male lab mix. Apparently he ate half a canister of raisins when his owners were out - sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Around 1 a.m. of the next day, the dog started vomiting and had diarrhea and shakes. The owner called Dr. Morris around 7 a.m. that day. The dog was brought into her office and they contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and were told to give the dog IV fluids and watch 'kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.'

After monitoring the dog for the remainder of the day, the vet determined that the dog was now in acute renal failure. He was sent to MedVet for monitoring and overnight care. He started vomiting again and only produced urine when given Lasix as a diuretic.

Sadly, as nothing that was done could control his vomiting and lack of urine output, the dog had to be euthanized. Dr. Morris says,
"This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern."