Feed me, Seymour, Feed Me!

From the Desk of: Nancy Alperson, DVM VCA Plainfield Animal Hospital

A couple weeks after my older son was born, I gave in. It was time to feed the dog breakfast - the only problem was I was recovering from a c-section, and it physically hurt to lean over to scoop food out of the dogfood bin. I felt sad. Our dog also looked really sad, and he had been doing such a great job with a crying newborn in the house. Clearly he deserved a hot dog! Unlike the dogfood bin, the refrigerator was an easy reach. Not long afterwards, he vomited, and the undigested hot dog came right back up. We had not expected the dog to continue to be sick, so my husband took him to the vet. I was embarrassed to learn he told her about the hot dog. I still remember asking how she reacted. He said she reacted like it was the most logical choice in the world. She just wanted to know if it was chewed up or whole.

That was not my only dog who got sick from eating bad things. When I was in vet school, my dog was such a frequent flier in the hospital, that any time a golden retriever was being seen for “dietary indiscretion” I would get a text asking if it was my dog. Legos, crayons, wrappers, chicken bones all brought my dog to the vet. Sometimes my dogs got sick from items that I gave to them before I was vet because I didn’t know they could cause any issues. Some memorable snacks included grapes, raisins, and corn cobs. So, why does that all of that matter?

It matters because pet owners need not be embarrassed or ashamed about something their dog ate. It happens to many of us, even veterinarians. If that embarrassment prevents sharing pertinent information, it can make a huge difference in treatment, and even be a matter of life and death. Trust me, whatever your dog has eaten, we’ve seen it before. No vet judged us, and we won’t judge you, but we do need to know

Here are some examples:

• Those raisins or grapes that your dog ate could affect their kidneys. Knowing in time, we may be able to introduce intervention to prevent digestion and further damage.

• Perhaps your dog suddenly started vomiting and having diarrhea because you gave them a steak. When my kids were toddlers, my dogs had a steady diet of bologna. This isn’t a rare occurrence, and we get it.

• Uncomfortable admitting that the dog got into pot? That happens too. In fact, it happens a lot. Every vet I know has treated at least one dog who got into pot.

• Maybe your dog got into medication. Some are uncomfortable sharing they are on certain medications. It is okay; you can trust us. A lot of people are on medications for various reasons, and you do not have to reveal any details.

• We don’t judge if you gave the dog medicine intentionally. I know many many owners who have tried to take care of a sick dog late at night, and consulted the internet.

• The internet sometimes recommends over-the-counter medicine or a prescription lying around the house for another dog, or even a human family member. I’ve been there and done that too, but when treating your dog, it is vital we know what medicines they may have taken before we prescribe anything. Not only are different medications countered by different treatments, but certain medications cannot be combined. If a vet does not know that a dog has accessed a particular medication, the vet can unknowingly make your dog sick by putting your pet on a contradicting medication.

A couple years after I became a vet, my dog got into a 5lb bag of crushed oyster shells I had bought for my chickens. Crushed oyster shells are very high in calcium, so in addition to having to monitor her for the subsequent vomiting and diarrhea, I also had to monitor her blood calcium. That experience was even more memorable, because the shells looked almost fluorescent on the x-ray, which happened to be brightly visible at the very moment that my clinic’s regional leadership happened to be passing through on a visit. A glowing and gleaming x-ray with a lot of senior vets present garnered a lot of questions and a lot of advice, but even that did not lead to judgement.

Whatever the cause of a sick pet visit, as veterinarians, we love getting to answers as simply as possible in order to form a gameplan with you. By gaining all the knowledge we can, testing and treatment can be faster, less stressful, and less expensive. We become veterinarians because our passion and purpose calls us to do the very best we can by animals. We are your partner in pet ownership, and here to help keep your pets healthy and happy.