[SWLUG] Very OT: [Fwd: FW: Important info for dog owners]

Thu Nov 29 18:48:23 UTC 2007

Hi All,

I know this is nothing remotely to do with IT, much less Linux, but I'd 
hate for any of you who are dog owners to suffer, or your dogs of course.

I don't know how many (if any) of you have dogs but I've run this 
through Yahoo to check for hoaxes and it seems to be genuine.  For a 
change of pace it's not some halfwit spamming the world with rubbish!

These links give more info:

http://www.happypetstop.com/blog/2007/03/raisins-dog-owners-important-information/
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp

Kind regards,

Julian

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	FW: Important info for dog owners
Date: 	Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:16:42 -0800
From: 	Carolyn FreckledCutie <freckledcarolyn at hotmail.com>
To: 	cheryl and Dwight Johnson <dncjohnson at hotmail.com>, cheryl tolofson 
<c.tolofson at sasktel.net>, Dan Bradford <strand01 at telusplanet.net>, "Dave 
White" <mrbub67 at hotmail.com>, Deb Roraph <deb_btb at telus.net>, 
"don.tanya at hotmail.com" <don.tanya at hotmail.com>, Eugene Harley 
<harley14 at shaw.ca>, Gloria and Leroy Harland <lgharland at shaw.ca>, Julian 
<celtikaos at gmail.com>, kim clairmont <kim.clairmont at shaw.ca>, Kim Kayzer 
<kkayzer at telus.net>, Lana Beierbach <lbeierbach at hotmail.com>, 
"laurell_m at hotmail.com" <laurell_m at hotmail.com>, Lily Fayer 
<lili_fair at hotmail.com>, randy2 <mercer_65 at hotmail.com>, sheri yahoo 
account <ynnuh66 at yahoo.com>, Tammy Weiss <ktweiss at shaw.ca>

                If you have a dog... PLEASE read this and send it on.
                 If you don't have a dog, please pass along to friends
                who do.  

                Written by: Laurinda Morris, DVM
                Danville Veterinary Clinic
                Danville , Ohio

                This week I had the first case in history of raisin
                toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound,
                5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister
                of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on
                Tuesday.  He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking
                about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my
                emergency service until 7AM.

                I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing
                acute Renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on
                the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In
                the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the
                doctor there was like me - had heard something about it,
                but....    Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National
                Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give I V
                fluids at 1 1/2 times maintainance and watch the kidney
                values for the next 48-72 hours.

                The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at
                32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine! over 5 ( 1.9 is
                the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney
                function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter
                and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5
                PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no
                urine production after a liter of fluids.  At the point
                I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him
                on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine
                output overnight as well as overnight care.

                He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his
                renal values have continued to incr ease daily. He
                produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on
                3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still
                couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output
                decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine
                was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his
                blood pressure, which had been staying around 150,
                skyrocketed to 220.. He continued to vomit and the
                owners elected to
                euthanize.

                This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who
                had no id ea raisins could be a toxin.. Please alert
                everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious
                risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes
                could be toxic. Many people I know give th eir dogs
                grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's.
                Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.
                *
                **Even if you don't have a dog, you might have friends
                who do. This is worth passing on to them. *
                Confirmation from Snopes about the above...
                http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp

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