Vet issues urgent warning as dog almost dies after eating Valentine's Day treat

05 February 2024 , 15:31

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Even a small bit of chocolate could be very dangerous for your dog (Image: Vets Now)

A vet has issued an urgent warning to all pet owners this Valentine's Day after a puppy ate 250g of chocolate and was rushed into urgent care.

All dog owners know that look in your pet's eyes when you are tucking into a treat and they look up beginning for a bite. While humans love chocolate, it can be easy to forget how dangerous it can be for dogs - even sneaking a little bit can do harm. With Valentine's Day approaching, households will be filled with heart-shaped treats and boxes, but owners should be careful where they put them.

One woman was left horrified when she came home last February 14 and found her dog had wolfed down a large amount of chocolate treats. Dog owner Shannon Morgan devised an ingenious way of hiding her Valentine’s Day chocolates from her mischievous cockapoo puppy called Belle. Shannon hid the large Nestle Dairy Box under her sofa in a place she knew that 11-month-old Belle couldn’t get access.

But, the cheeky dog managed to demolish the upper tray of the contents one-by-one. The pup used her paws and nose to gently bring the box back out while her owner was out briefly. Despite Belle's grin after inhaling ten assorted flavours of chocolate, the dog's body was now full of toxins.

Within minutes, she was rushed to emergency care.

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Shannon was aware of how toxic chocolate can be for dogs, so she immediately raised the alarm with pet emergency service Vets Now. And within a few minutes, Belle was admitted to Vets Now's out-of-hours clinic in Newport, Gwent.

The team gave Belle medicine to make her sick which successfully removed a life-threateningly large amount of liquid chocolate without the need further treatment. Around an hour later, a slightly subdued Belle was well enough again to go back with Shannon to her home in Caerphilly, Wales, and was back to her normal perky stuff a few days later.

‌Shannon, who welcomed Belle into her home at eight weeks old, told The Mirror: "This was our first experience of a dog medical emergency - and, while everyone at Vets Now was incredibly kind and caring, I wouldn’t want anyone else to suffer the stress and anxiety we went through.

"I appreciate it all seems quite funny now – but it wasn’t at the time, and I was genuinely worried we could lose Belle."

Vet issues urgent warning as dog almost dies after eating Valentine's Day treat

Dog owner Shannon Morgan devised an ingenious way of hiding her Valentine's Day chocolates from her puppy called Belle, but she found them anyway (Vets Now)

‌She continued: "The chocolates were my Valentine's present from my partner Jake, and I didn't want to leave them anywhere where Belle could possibly get at them while I popped out. So, I thought wedging the box well under sofa was the best hiding spot."

"She somehow managed to prod, push and slide out the box using her paws and then used her nose to nudge it along. I was only out for about half an hour, but she ate the entire top tray of chocolates and was probably about to start on the bottom tray too."

Now Shannon is urging other dog owners to be super alert to the possibility of chocolate mishaps around Valentine’s Day.

Shannon commented: "This Valentine's I'll be making sure that any chocolate I get is put on top of the kitchen cupboards and locked away where Belle will never get hold of it. And I'd advise other dog owners to do the same - put the chocolate under lock and key!"

Owain Davies lead out of hours vet at Vets Now emergency clinic in Newport said: "Shannon was right to call us straightaway – and it's really important that she did because we were able to treat Belle before she’d begun to digest the chocolate. Time really does matter in any toxicity case."

He added: "People might think it’s strange that a treat for humans like chocolate could be so dangerous for dogs – but it’s all due to a chemical in chocolate called theobromine which is harmless for us humans but toxic for canines. So please do seek veterinary help straightaway if your dog eats any."