Dogs can eat absolutely anything and be wonderful, proper? No, not fairly. Frankie Counce from Parkin, Arkansas, found this when Sugar, his 2-year-old pit bull, ingested moldy meals. Counce cooked a slow-cooking crock-pot of ribs and took the moldy barbecue sauce exterior to scrub it out.
Sugar, the canine who was efficiently handled after consuming moldy barbecue sauce (Photo courtesy of Pet Poison Helpline).
“I took the pot exterior to scrub it with the hose,” mentioned Counce, in a Pet Poison Helpline launch.1 “I believed I had washed the fabric nicely sufficient that it had soaked into the bottom, however I discovered Sugar digging across the spot the place I had cleaned out the mess.” An hour later, Sugar was shivering and twitching. Because Counce’s veterinarian was closed, he drove Sugar to the closest emergency hospital, Animal Emergency Center, in Memphis.
Upon arrival on the hospital, Sugar was seizing, and the medical group initially suspected xylitol publicity. They suggested Counce to seek the advice of the toxicology consultants at Pet Poison Helpline, and primarily based on the signs and the circumstances,the toxicologists discovered that Sugar was reacting to the moldy barbeque sauce, not xylitol. “Barbeque sauce was the very last thing on my thoughts,” shared Counce.1 “Dogs eat every thing. We dwell by a river, they usually’re continuously consuming all kinds of issues, like rotten fish. I might have by no means thought one thing like old sauce could possibly be so harmful.”
When they confirmed Sugar was affected by tremorgenic mycotoxins, the medical group carried out life-saving monitoring and therapy by offering Sugar with an anti-emetic, IV fluids, methocarbamol for her tremors and anticonvulsants for the seizures.1 “I do know that if I hadn’t gotten Sugar there once I did, she would have died,” Counce mentioned. “Moldy barbeque sauce almost killed her, however happily she’s again to her regular, wholesome self.”
The Pet Poison Helpline is elevating consciousness of the extreme risks of feeding moldy meals to dogs. Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT, a senior veterinary toxicologist at Pet Poison Helpline,1 defined that “toxins referred to as tremorgenic mycotoxins can kind in spoiled, moldy meals. Ingestion of those toxins may cause acute tremors, which might vary from gentle to life-threatening. Symptoms embody central nervous system and gastrointestinal indicators, shivering, twitching, lack of management of physique actions, excessive physique temperature and seizures.” Typically, with early aggressive therapy, the prognosis is nice and restoration is full with out sequelae.2 Fortunately, on this situation the Pet Poison Helpline might supply perception, nonetheless, it’s invaluable for veterinarians to be acquainted with medical indicators of tremorgenic mycotoxins on the time of admission for the very best outcomes.2
References
- Moldy dinner scraps practically kill hungry canine. News launch. Pet Poison Helpline. September 13, 2023. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/moldy-dinner-scraps-nearly-kill-hungry-dog-301925483.html
- Boysen SR, Rozanski EA, Chan DL, Grobe TL, Fallon MJ, Rush JE. Tremorgenic mycotoxicosis in 4 dogs from a single family. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2002;221(10):1441-4, 1420. doi: 10.2460/javma.2002.221.1441
