Chocolate Mayhem

So as you all know, chocolate is my downfall in life...especially since I've gotten pregnant! I can't seem to keep my hands off of ANYTHING with chocolate. It is because of this love that I thought it would be fun for my students to add Hershey's Hugs and Kisses to their Father's Day gifts. I went to Wal-Mart and bought several different kinds, brought them home, and put them on my dining room table so that I wouldn't forget to take it all to work with me the next day. Then Eli and I headed to our Monday night birthing class. After class we decided to go to half-price appetizers at Applebee's since we hadn't had dinner. Eli wanted to go home first to check on the dogs and take them potty. THANK GOD Eli had this idea...

When we opened the door both dogs greeted us with much excitement. Then, we entered into a nightmare. One of the bags of chocolate was laying on the ground with wrappers EVERYWHERE. Originally, this bag contained 18.8 ounces of chocolate yet only a few kisses remained in the bag. Together Oskar and Max had consumed over 1 pound of chocolate. To say I panicked is an understatement. I immediately called the emergency vet number. As I waited for the Dr. to return my call, I googled the levels of toxicity in milk chocolate. Many websites said that it would take 2-3 ounces to produce toxic levels that can take a dog's life. 2-3 ounces....what about 16??? When the Dr. finally called, she told us to pour 1 Tbl. hydrogen peroxide down their throats to induce vomiting. She told us that if it had been over an hour, the hp wouldn't work. (We were gone for 3 hours, so we had no idea when they had eaten it.) Anyway, do you think we had any hp in our home? Of course not. Eli raced to Wal-Mart knowing that time was against us. In the mean time, Oskar began to mope and act "sick" and I just kept giving him kisses telling him to stay strong. I have NEVER felt such fear nor cried so much.

Finally Eli arrived with his prized possession in which we proceeded to dump down their throats. I cannot believe how much vomit they both produced....Oskar between 2-3 cups and Max 1/2-1 cup. I called the vet back to report the results. She couldn't believe how much they had eaten (she said she had never heard of a chocolate toxicity case where so much chocolate had been consumed...that's comforting to hear from a veterinarian who has probably seen animals pass away from such an ailment...) She told us that we had probably gotten most of the chocolate out of the system but she encouraged us to bring them in. She said that she would give them a medicine that would cling onto the remaining toxins to prevent absorption, give them iv's and monitor them for the night....i.e. admit them into the hospital. Keep in mind...this would all be an emergency room visit for TWO dogs. I am trying to fathom how in the hell we can afford this, yet, I am willing to pay anything for my doggies. (I should mention that about 5 minutes after the dogs were done getting sick, they both were acting like themselves. So my gut is telling me that they're going to be okay, but I don't want to take a risk and lose them.) Anyway, the doc explained in detail to me the signs of chocolate toxicity and what to watch for. We decided not to take them in right away and to monitor them. They continued to act like themselves, but since it was getting late, they just wanted to sleep. It was hard to know if they were sleeping because they were tired or because they were feeling ill. We finally decided to go to bed. We let them sleep with us so that I could make sure they didn't begin to seizure and that they continued to breath. I hardly slept through the night, scared that I might wake up and find one of them gone. Luckily they both made it through and are perfectly healthy!

I thank GOD that Eli wanted to come home before going to dinner, because I honestly believe in my heart that Oskar wouldn't have made it with the amount he consumed. I know for a fact we would have needed to take them into the vet as the HP wouldn't have been helpful after so much time. We are SO lucky to have two healthy puppies!

I realized through all of this just how special and important our dogs are to us. They currently are our children and we love them SO much. They are an intricate part of our daily lives and even though they can be pills, especially Oskar, we wouldn't trade them for the world! Oh and incase you are wondering how they managed to get the bag of chocolate off of the dining room table, I have one word for you...OSKAR! We don't know if he was able to get on the table from a chair or if he jumped high enough to get ahold of one of the sacks the chocolate was in and then able to pull it off. Either way...we have learned to put EVERYTHING away that could possibly be a temptation to our mischevious child!

If you have animals, be sure to give them a few extra hugs (real ones, not chocolate!) because you never know when something might happen to them...

(From left to right: Toby (my parents' dog), Oskar, and Max!)