Did Your Dog Get Chocolates for Christmas?

While reviewing the number of accident claims VPI received in December I noticed something interesting – methylxanthine toxicity (chocolate and caffeine poisoning) was much higher on the list than usual. Instead of being around  No. 24 on the list it was  No. 11. This got me thinking, and I decided to look at the number of chocolate poisonings we’ve received on a monthly basis over the past couple of years. The results were conclusive—in December VPI sees a dramatic increase in the number of claims for chocolate poisonings.

Keep in mind that people are still filing claims for visits from December 2010, so the number will continue to climb throughout the year! The numbers also show that summertime has the lowest number of claims for treatment of methylxanthine toxicity.

One policyholder who filed a claim this past December for chocolate poisoning was Catherine Furr. Catherine has a miniature schnauzer named Schultz. Sadly Schultz lost his eyesight to Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome this past October. Before that time Schultz had never gotten into or eaten anything he wasn’t supposed to, but Catherine has found out that Schultz’s sense of smell has increased dramatically since he went blind.

Catherine left the house one day with an unopened bag of chocolate biscotti and a closed plastic container of joint health chewables for dog on the kitchen table. She returned to find Schultz had managed to open the bag and eat 5 of the 6 biscotti and chewed off the lid of the container to eat 100 of the chewables! He was in obvious discomfort and Catherine quickly took him to the veterinarian where they took X-rays, induced vomiting, and administered fluids to treat Schultz. After paying the $50 deductible, Catherine was reimbursed almost 90 percent of her veterinary bill by VPI.

Schultz has since recovered completely and Catherine now keeps anything and everything up out of his reach. She also warns other pet owners, “Just because something is sealed or in a plastic container your dog can still smell it!”

Another example of Christmas chocolates taking a turn for the worse comes from Ken Hobbs from Tuscon, Ariz. Ken’s wife was putting together Christmas stockings for the family, which included packets of chocolates. Ken heard Jack, their 5-year-old puggle rustling in the next room and found him eating one of the packets, which Ken took away. Ken thought Jack had only grabbed one packet of candy, but his wife noticed that more than one packet was missing. They counted how many packets were left and deduced that Jack had eaten 17 pieces of light and dark chocolate!

They quickly took Jack to the veterinarian who induced vomiting and gave him activated charcoal to help absorb the toxins in the chocolate. Jack quickly recovered, but this wasn’t his first time getting into the holiday chocolates. Three years earlier he managed to find a sealed box of See’s Candies that was gift wrapped and in a stack of other Christmas presents. Jack ignored all the other presents, pulled the box into the living room, and ate three chocolates before Ken could stop him! After talking to the veterinarian they were told it was a small enough amount that Jack should be fine, but to keep an eye on him.

“I really encourage pet owners to keep candies well-secured from pets, because they’ll go get it,” Ken remarked. So no matter if it is Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, or just Thursday always be sure to keep your pet safe by putting potentially dangerous items well out of their reach and don’t think just because they can’t see it, they won’t find it!