So at some point yesterday, while I was getting ready for work, my Geo got into a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. I can only guess that one of the kids snuck into them, and in an attempt to not get caught, hid them where the dog could get to them. And get into them she did. So much so that she turned the bag inside out.
My first thought was "great, diarrhea". And I didn't want that on the floor, I took the dogs to work with me. (At this point, I wasn't certain which dog had done it, so took both) My fear wasn't that they would get super sick from it, just that it would be MUCH easier to clean up at work, since I work at an animal hospital, and the facility is designed for just such this thing. (hose, metal grates, and troughs underneath = much easier to clean than carpet)
Geo is a window dog. She LOVES to ride in the car, and even when it is 10 below, she likes to hang her head out the window. This time, she curled up on the seat and didn't move. I knew right away it was her who had gotten the chocolate. Dakota has an iron stomach, and can ingest ANYTHING without side effects. I wasn't sure how Geo was going to handle it.
About an hour after we arrived at work, the vomiting started. LOTS of vomiting. Chocolate everywhere. She "dropped" right before my eyes. Her eyes dilated, her skin began to sag, she was drooling, eyes watering...and her fur just didn't look right, which is always an indicator when she doesn't feel good. I went and spoke with Dr. Brooke about it and she offered to look at her.
Turns out, Geo ingested what could be a fatal amount of chocolate. Now I was scared. She is an old girl. Best we can guess is that she is at least 9. She has had a previous back injury that left her paralyzed for several months. She didn't need this too.
One of my co-workers, Erica, offered to ingest Geo with the 250ccs of activated charcoal that the doctor ordered. All I can say is thank God for Erica, and that Geo was a good patient. It ended up not being too messy, and I was thankful Geo didn't make Erica wear it, because I already felt bad enough.
And then the puking started. Lots.and.lots.of.puking. Who knew dog stomachs could hold so much? Not this chick, that's for sure. There was more chocolate in the vomit than charcoal, and if there was any blessing in it at all, it was that the puke smelled just like the chocolate, so the cleanup wasn't near as bad as it could have been. Aside from the staining charcoal.
Geo was now on "seizure" watch. I decided to take her home with me, because then she would have overnight supervision. Once we got home, she kind of went downhill again. She was pacing, whining, hiding (have since found out that this is due to the caffeine in the chocolate). her heart rate got up near 160, but never to the 200bpm the Dr. told me to watch for. I was up at least every hour peeking on her. I had set her up a nice lined bed next to where Brad sleeps, and she stayed there. She threw up a few more times overnight, but nothing like what she did at work. I was terrified, and was certain she wasn't going to make through the night.
This morning, I woke to check on Geo. She had managed to get herself up on the back of the sofa, which was something she couldn't do last night. She was sound asleep, but when I woke her, I noticed right away that her eyes looked a million times better. Her breathing wasn't as fast, and her tummy not as sore. Unfortunately, Chocolate Toxicity can re-present itself for several days after the ingestion point. So, we aren't out of the woods yet. But I am really hoping that this means she is strong enough still, to pull through this.
Our little shelter beagle is turning out to be one hell of a fighter, over and over again.
And now, for the people that are fascinated by medical things like I am....the photos. For those that aren't, look away now.
Poor poor Geo. She's one tough puppy so I'm really really hoping she is just fine. She just wanted to scare the shit out of you again she's really good at that isn't she?
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