Raisin The Alert

IT'S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT THAT GRAPES AND RAISINS ARE TOXIC TO DOGS

Chumley was a rascally guy. He had a mind of his own," said Seth Silverton, Chumley's guardian in Rockland, Maine. Perhaps that mischievous spirit is what led Chumley to climb onto the countertop that day. But what Chumley ate that caused his untimely death was not a household chemical or anything overtly dangerous. It was a simple breakfast topping that Silverton's daughter had sprinkled on her oatmeal that morning.

Chumley, a beautiful 5-year-old Lab/hound mix, had eaten a brand new 15-ounce package of raisins. The Silvertons, like many other families with dogs, had never heard that raisins could be poisonous to their family pet.

When Silverton returned home from work that evening, Chumley was lethargicand vomiting. When the vomiting continued into the next morning, Silverton's wife, Jessica, began searching the Internet to find out if raisins could be poisonous to dogs.

Jessica had that 'Oh my God' moment when she discovered that there is an extremely high mortality from what is known in the vet world as ARFAcute Renal Failure," Silverton said.
ARF occurs in some dogs who have consumed grapes or raisins. Jessica immediately called Seth to take Chumley to the animal hospital.

Silverton couldn't believe that raisins could make a dog sick. A call to his local vet temporarily relieved his concerns when a search of the vet's own toxicology books revealed nothing about raisin toxicity in dogs.

When Chumley continued to get worse, Silverton called the Eastern Maine Emergency Veterinary Clinic in Brewer. They crushed any hope the Silverton family had when they said, I have bad news for you. It doesn't look like your dog is going to make it."

RAISIN TOXICITY

It turns out that raisinsand grapescan be poisonous to dogs. The trend of poisonings was noticed first around 1989 when dogs that had eaten the fruit developed ARF, also known as kidney failure.

Between January 2001 and August 2004, more than 200 calls were made to the Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) involving dogs that had potentially eaten grapes or raisins.

The exact mechanism by which grapes and raisins cause kidney failure is still unknown. Theories include pesticides, heavy metals, or mycotoxins (fungal material) on the skin of the grapes, but the fruit implicated in the deaths of the dogs has been tested and returned with negative results. Even when grapes were consumed off the vine in a family's backyard, homeowners' claims were that no pesticides or fertilizers had been used.

Poisonings have occurred from both seeded and seedless grapes, and from fruit purchased from a grocery store and picked off the vine. Nor does the variety of grape or brand of raisin seem
to matter. The amount a dog needs to eat to cause illness varies. Poisonings have been documented to occur in dogs who have eaten anywhere from a single serving to a pound of raisins.

What are the symptoms of grape and raisin poisoning? Sensitive dogs have a risk of initial gastrointestinal upset, followed by acute renal failure. Vomiting often occurs within the first few hours and the partially digested grapes or raisins are frequently found in the vomit and fecal material. Subsequent symptoms may include diarrhea, depression, excessive thirst and signs of abdominal pain. These signs can last from several days to several weeks.

If treatment isn't sought immediately, ARF can develop within 24 to 72 hours. When the kidneys fail, a dog's body is unable to filter the blood and excrete waste in the urine. Once urine is no longer being produced, most dogs die or must be euthanized.

Without understanding exactly how raisins and grapes cause toxicity, all cases of ingestion should be considered potentially dangerous. However, today, with a better understanding of the symptoms and progression of the illness, dogs can be treated successfully to prevent ARF.

The key is early recognition and decontamination. For a dog that is known to have ingested raisins or grapes, inducing vomiting and administering activated charcoal helps to prevent absorption of potential toxins. In all cases of ingestion, however, a veterinarian should be contacted immediately to provide professional medical attention.

A MIRACULOUS DOG

After the Silvertons learned that the raisins he ate had poisoned Chumley, they immediately took him to the vet. Blood tests revealed that "Chumley had numbers in multiple of tens of where they should have been. Absolutely nothing but willpower was keeping this dog going to the end," said Silverton. He really was a miraculous dog."

The Silvertons found Chumley at the Knox County Animal Shelter, where they went to adopt a dog for their son AJ's ninth birthday. Chumley, a stray at the shelter who was 2 or 3 years old, was a fox red color, sporting Lab, but with a narrower head," Silverton said. Kept in a pen off to one side of the other dogs, he was the most beautiful dog Silverton had ever seen.

Because Chumley had arrived at the shelter only the day before the Silvertons found him, they had to allow the owner an opportunity to claim the dog. A week later, on AJ's birthday, Chumley was taken home.

I think there is something about dogs that we rescue," Silverton said. They realize they are in a bad place and they love being rescued. [They have] an innate sense that the pack they were with before was a bad situation, and the pack they are with now is a good situation. And they are just happy because they are in a good pack and it reflects in their behavior."

Nine-year-old AJ, however, had a difficult time understanding why Chumley was sick. His father told him, Listen, this is not our plan. This is God's plan. God has a plan for everybody and this is just how Chumley fits into God's plan."

Can't we change God's plan?" AJ asked.

Silverton told his son that he could tryas hard as he couldbut it's not up to us. Nobody told Chumley to go and eat that stuff. There is no blame to be assigned here." Silverton thinks AJ understood that.

Chumley died just over one week after eating the box of raisins. We went out for a walk. He lay down in the middle of it. It took all he could do to go another four or five feet and I carried him into the house and put him down. He just lay down in the corner and went peacefully."

MOVING FORWARD

The Silverton family has a new yellow Lab puppy, Harry. Harry and the family are enrolled in Red Cross CPR/First Aid and obedience classes. If there is one lesson to be learned out of all of this, Silverton thinks it is the importance of receiving professional obedience training with your dog.

If Chumley's lesson taught me anything, it's that you need to set a level of expectation for that dog and to set boundaries. If you fail to do that as a dog owner, you are being negligent."

Silverton added, I had a bit of negligence in myself because I thought, 'I'm capable of training this dog.' To an extent, you can train the dog to sit, or not go to the bathroom in the house. But, if you can't train a dog that it is unacceptable to jump on the counter and if you can't have a dog looking to you for direction, and you're not dictating what that dog should be doing...

Maybe if we'd had Chumley since he was a puppy, and had he known that it was unacceptable, even in our absence, to jump up on a countertop and eat those raisins, then he might still be with us today. I guess that is kind of a best case scenario to think about it."

Silverton stressed that forewarned is forearmed, and that it is important to have information about what can hurt a dog. Whether it's keeping your dog on a leash while you're out for a walk or understanding the dangers around the household, such as raisins and grapes, if you know of something that is an imminent threat, and you don't prepare for it, then you are the one at fault.

Read as much as you can to protect you, your family and your dog. It is your responsibility as a dog owner to ensure your dog is safe," said Silverton. Now that I know about raisin toxicity, I haven't bought a raisin since."