living on the edge

Today I hear is the first day of spring. Exactly a year ago I arrived in Vermont a small scared puppy. I cried a lot at night in the beginning, Petunia growled all the time when I came near her, and I almost drown in our pond!
Today I weigh 80 pounds, I snore instead of cry at night, Petunia LOVES me, and yesterday I accidentally almost drown my mom in our pond! Some advise, don't run up behind someone while they are standing by a half frozen pond and bump them..... not a good idea.
On the menu at S.A.V.E.S. this week was some pretty odd things. The first was Violet, a very (did I say very) pretty boxer. I wish we had met under different circumstances, I know she would have fallen for me. Instead Violet arrived with a strange appetite for razor blades.

Disposable Razor Blade

Violet was having a hard time keeping anything down, she wasn't eating and really felt awful. She came to S.A.V.E.S. because her veterinarian diagnosed  a foreign body in her stomach. Violet had eaten a disposable razor blade and it was stuck in her stomach. The first attempt to remove the object was performed by endoscopy. Endoscopy involves running a very small camera down into the stomach, locating the object and then retrieving it via the same equipment's "grabber" tool. Violet's razor did not want to come out in this manner.

Removing the Razor Blade

The next step was to surgically remove the blade. My dad took Violet to surgery and performed a gastrotomy. Once the stomach was located he made a small incision into her stomach wall and retrieved the razor blade.

Surgical Monitoring

It was pretty cool, I get to watch all the surgeries through the observation glass, someday I think I want to be a surgeon like my dad. My mom monitored the anesthesia with all sorts of machines that beeped and made funny sounds. Air kept filling the blood pressure cuff with a whoosh, the heart monitor showed every heartbeat on the screen, and another monitor showed how much oxygen was circulating in her bloodstream Really cool stuff. The table is even heated! Who would figure!

Violet Recovers From Surgery

After surgery Violet recovered in the recovery stall with Carm (that's what I call her but her real name is Carmelita) one of the nurses at S.A.V.E.S. She had lots of blankets and a big heating pad full of warm air. The nurses stay with the patients until they are fully recovered.

Violet My Love

Violet is home now and probably the only way I will ever get to see her again is if she decides to eat another razor. I know it sounds awful but I kind of hope she does so I can talk to her again! She was so pretty!

Appetite for Lingerie

This poor guy swallowed a bra! It also had to be removed with surgery! Think I will stick to my canned and dry food! Tata for now!

HoHoHo...Oh No

Wow, the year is coming to an end. January means my 1st birthday! I love the holidays but once again I have to wonder about human's traditions. This month my humans lugged a 15 foot tree into our house. Then they decorated the tree with shiny things and bright lights. I thought about lifting my leg on it (I have perfected that stance) but decided last minute it would be a bad idea.
S.A.V.E.S. has been so busy. With the holidays brings many different hazards. Chocolate has been a huge offender. So many dogs have been admitted to the hospital for ingesting this candy. I have to say, my sister got a bar for Christmas and it sure does smell good.

The substance in chocolate that is so harmful to pets is called Theobromine. Different types of chocolate contain different levels of this substance. Unsweetened (Baker's) chocolate contains 8-10 times more Theobromine then milk chocolate. White chocolate contains the lowest amounts and is usually least likely to cause poisoning.
The toxic dose of theobromine (and caffeine) is 100-200mg/kg (1 kg=2.2lbs.) though there have been even smaller doses that have been found to be harmful.
Theobromine levels-
Dry Cocoa= 800mg/ou.
Unsweetened chocolate= 450mg/ou.
Semisweet chocolate= 150-160mg/ou.
Milk Chocolate= 44-64mg/ou.
**so the size of the pet, type of chocolate, and the quantity consumed determines the danger
Within 12 hours of eating the chocolate your pet may become excited, nervous or tremble. Vomiting and diarrhea and excessive thirst and excessive urination may occur. As the symptoms progress, muscle spasms, seizure and even death are possible.

When the pet arrives at the hospital the first thing the staff does is try and get the pet to vomit. Intravenous fluid therapy and anti-seizure medications are commonly used. Another useful bit of information, unborn and nursing offspring are also susceptible, Theobromine crosses through the mother's placenta and into milk!

Chocolate is not the only culprit for pets this holiday season. This pile of vomit came from a pet that had eaten 4 boxes of raisins. Grapes and raisins are toxic to pets. Raisins are a dried grape, and since their dried the toxin is concentrated in the fruit. Ultimately your pet's kidneys are damaged if the patient goes untreated.
Within the first 24 hours your pet will show signs of anxiousness, then stop drinking and urinating as the kidneys fail. The medical staff firsts induces vomiting, then administers activated charcoal to absorb the toxin. Intravenous fluids help flush the toxins out of the body and support the kidneys.
p.s. only induce vomiting if instructed by your veterinarian. 3% Hydrogen Peroxide is commonly used to induce vomiting at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds body weight (1 teaspoon- 5 mls). Remember to watch your pet closely for vomiting, we have been known to re-eat our vomitus if allowed to (yea, yea, you humans do some pretty gross things also).
So people, don't leave your Godiva's laying around, we dogs love chocolate! And the next time you bring your moldy grapes out to the bird feeder, remember, the cold wind blows and down will come grapes and raisins in all. TaTa for now.