Dog tragically dies 24 hours after eating hand warmer thrown in household bin
A woman has issued a stark warning to pet owners after her dog tragically died less than 24 hours after eating a hand warmer.
The heartbroken owner shared her story on Reddit, revealing that her beloved pet had rummaged through the rubbish and found the dangerous item. She wrote: "In less than 24 hours my beautiful dog is gone. Yesterday, at around 3pm we noticed she got into a rogue hand warmer. We have no idea where it came from but suspect it was in the trash or something. She didn't eat all of it, just tore it up but ate enough to kill her."
Hand warmers contain amounts of iron that can be toxic to dogs if ingested - as well as other substances including cellulose, activated carbon, vermiculite, and salt. The woman continued: "She started puking but was really spry. At around 11pm we said, 'If she pukes one more time, we'll take her to the ER'. She did and my husband took her to the ER."
The woman stayed home with their 10-month-old baby while her husband rushed their dog to the emergency room for help. From there, they were advised to call poison control as their dog underwent an X-ray. "They gave us the option to do fluids/monitoring overnight until we could take her to the vet in the morning," she added.
The woman has been left heartbroken. File image (Getty Images)"My husband opted to do the hydro packs under the skin and bring her home since she still had energy and the X-ray was inconclusive. At 2am, I got up to send her outside to potty and she seemed okay. At 8:30 am, I came downstairs and she was super lethargic. I helped my husband get the baby out the door for daycare and called our vet.
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"They initially scheduled her for 11am but I called back and asked if she could come sooner because she really didn't seem well. She wouldn't stand or anything. When my husband got back, he carried her to the car, and I took her to the vet. Within the next 30 minutes, she passed away."
"I feel horrible. My beautiful dog was only with us for three years. She was a rescue but I feel like we hardly rescued her because of this incident. I feel so sad that the ER doctor didn't stress how severe or rapidly this could progress, or that I didn't pick up on the severity from reading about it. I hate that I threw the hand warmer into the trash accessible to my dog not knowing it was so toxic.
"I am stunned that this happened so quickly. I feel so guilty for her and take solace in the fact that all dogs go to heaven, I just hope she'll forgive me for letting this happen to her." When issuing a warning to other pet owner, she said: "Lesson learned, don't wait. Get your dog seen and do whatever you have to in order to help them. Iron, along with other household toxins, can and will kill your dog." A user commented on her post: "I'm really sorry for your loss. It sounds like she was very loved, and this was an accident.
"I worked in emergency vet med for many years, and just wanted to comment on what you said about being with her while she was gasping for air. Agonal breathing is a reflex, a completely involuntary muscle spasm that happens after the animal has lost consciousness when the respiratory system has begun shutting down. It looks scary, but it doesn't indicate pain or fear or stress."
Another user expressed their sympathy: "I'm so sorry, this is terrible. I can't imagine the shock. I would never have thought of handwarmers, but I sure will now. I'm so sorry this happened to you." A third person thanked them for sharing, saying: "Thanks for sharing your story so others know. Every time a dog of mine has passed, they sent me some sign of their love. And when I saw it, I immediately knew it for what it was. Look for your sign and know that you are forgiven."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
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