Pet Poisoning: Know the Signs and Symptoms

When the Olson family's dog Balto started acting sick in the mountains, they had no idea what could be affecting him - they just knew they needed to get him down right away. Even when he was brought into the vet, the mystery of what was causing Balto to vomit and have extremely high blood sugar remained.

"When he got here he was still not able to stand and had some really unusual lab work," Dr. Shoni Card, Balto's veterinarian said. "His blood sugar was super high, his kidney values were moderately elevated and his bilirubin and his pancreatic levels were elevated."

Balto had a very unusual combination of symptoms and was treated for non-specific poisoning. Unfortunately, he passed away before the cause of his illness was determined for certain. The Olsons decided against a necropsy and Balto was taken home and buried.

"Dr. Card has a ton of experience so I trust her instincts. However we can't rule out things like a pancreatic tumor that would affect blood sugar and cause weird symptoms," said Dr. Tanya Fyfe, local licensed veterinarian. "All cancers can do all sorts of things so without a necropsy you just can't be 100 percent sure."

Fyfe said that the most important thing is that pet owners know what kinds of poison can harm their animals and the best way to react if they do ingest something dangerous.

"We are not looking to blame or make trouble but don't want any animal or owner to go through something like this," said Sigrid Olson. "We kept thinking it was something we did wrong. Finding out that it was out of our control was hard."

The most common type of poisoning is caused by rodent poison that contains an anti-coagulant. Due to the large amount of seasonal residents in Seeley, it's common for people to leave for the winter and leave rat or mouse poison in their homes or on their property and then forget about it by the time they come back for spring or summer, Fyfe said.

"The anti coagulants block the creation of vitamin K, which is necessary for blood clotting," she said. "The problem is when owners don't know their dog has gotten into anything because it takes a few days to see symptoms."

If an owner sees a pet ingest the poison, they can be brought to the vet for an emergency injection of vitamin K and a month's worth of vitamin K pills to be administered at home.

If an owner doesn't notice that a dog has eaten the rodent poison, symptoms can include weakness, no appetite, bloody stools or urine or even nosebleeds and pale gums. The dog can also have rapid breathing due to internal bleeding and fluid building up within its chest. At that point, the animal will require one or more blood transfusions.

Fyfe said chocolate toxicity is probably called in the most. The toxic component are the methylxanthenes, which humans can absorb better than dogs.

The degree to which ingesting chocolate can harm a dog is determined by the type of chocolate, the weight of the dog and how much was consumed. Fyfe points to a calculator on petmd.com which can help an owner use these factors to determine how a pet needs to be cared for.

Symptoms of methyxanthene toxicity include vomiting, diarrhea, increased body temperature, muscle rigidity, rapid rate of breathing and even seizures.

Another common pet poison is antifreeze, which is more commonly seen in winter and among cats rather than dogs. Symptoms can appear from within 30 minutes to 12 hours and include nausea, vomiting, wobbly appearance, muscle twitches, increased thirst and urination and head tremors.

In Balto's case, antifreeze, diabetes and household items were ruled out as the cause of death. After backtracking their last trips in the woods, the Olsons were unable to find anything conclusive.

"If they do get into something and you are able to see what it is, always bring in a sample because that can make a really big difference," Card said. "The hard part is when you can't figure out where the exposure came from."

Card suggests that the best way to protect pets is to keep an eye on them at all times and to make sure they follow "drop it" or "leave it" commands.

If your pet has ingested anything strange or is displaying any unusual symptoms, it's important that a vet see them as soon as possible. The Pet Poison Helpline number is 1-855-213-6680.