Dear Readers,

If you read yesterday’s blog, you learned that my dog, Finn, ate about eighty-ninety Raisinettes.  POISON for dogs–chocolate and raisins on Friday night.  However, after a call to Poison Control, four visits to emergency hospitals, tons of maternal guilt, no sleep, lots of anxiety and lots of money, we now know he is going to be fine–his many blood tests reveal that his levels for kidney and pancreas are fine. We are one happy Cramer Hill family!

Finn seemed to be improving early evening yesterday and we brought him home feeling relieved.  Our one-year-old canine son slept immediately.  About five a.m. he crawled to my face and asked to snuggle under the light cotton quilt.  “Of course,” and I lifted up the quilt.  I petted him sleepily.

All at once he stood up and threw up…ALERT–-it’s not going to be pretty—he threw up on the quilt, the pillow, my shirt, my neck and—believe it or not, my face and my hair.

My husband took him outside and then reported that the dog was perky.  Nonperky me was taking a bath and was shampooing my hair like crazy.  I worried that he was starting to have kidney problems. Vomiting is a bad sign in this poisonous chocolate/raisin situation. (I had researched this online.)

We threw on clothing and drove to the Mount Laurel Emergency Animal Hospital.  Concerned, they ran two important tests and we waited for the results.  My husband took Finn outside during part of the waiting time and Carlos reported that he had to bring Finn back inside the hospital because Finn saw goose poop and was too, too interested in it.  “It must look like Raisinettes,” I said, wearily raising my now clean eyebrows.

The vet said that Finn’s levels were good.  Our boy could have had damage to kidneys and pancreas.   Whew.  However, he has gastritis and he has  been stressed.  Now Finn is enjoying a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice.

He’s tired, but regaining his wild and crazy self.  He chased our cat, Bello, already–Bello had committed the ultimate sin of washing his paws in Finn’s water bowl.  Finn barked at a bird.  He went crazy with joy when my husband returned from an errand.

A happy ending…  but the morale of this story is please, please, please—never leave chocolates or raisins near a dog.  Nor grapes!  Nor garlic, nor onions, nor avocados, nor alcohol!  If you have a dog, look up foods that are poisonous to dogs. https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/foods-are-hazardous-dogs

Thanks to all who expressed concern for him.  We love our dogs, don’t we?

Love from

Marguerite Ferra, very tired and relieved dog owner/dog mom in Cramer Hill