Let me just start out by saying what will soon be pretty obvious: this whole thing could have been a major disaster but due to our terrier quick thinking, we dodged a very large bullet and trotted away to our next adventure.
Sharp-eyed readers who take a close look at my picture might get a clue that things were done to us out of our control. I’m the good looking one smack dab in the center where I should be. Sure, I look great, even with my right paw shaved, but I did not do that to myself, and even half asleep I’d never let Jaxon close to my paws with a straight razor. Anyway, let’s get right into our story.
Jaxon came to me with an exciting plan: join forces and raid the pantry for a post-dinner dessert. We’d have just a few minutes to grab the loot while no one was watching. Jaxon stressed that we’d have to move quickly and that he had enough quickness for both of us. Evidently, he foolishly thinks I appear to have lost a step or two. Rather than correct him with displays of my speed, I focused on the treats that we’d soon be sharing. He was right that we were short on time. Looking back, how could I resist a plan that involved grabbing a snack in a daring raid? With us both working this with all we’ve got what could really go wrong? Or should I be asking the better question: have I learned anything to this point?
Gaining entry to the pantry was easy enough. I pushed Jaxon into the closed door a few times, and before he complained too loudly, the door popped open. The hard part was over. Or so I thought.
Once inside, the shelves were full of treats of every kind. We could spend hours in here, but time was short. Our challenge was deciding what to grab first. At exactly the same moment, we both spotted a big loaf of something. Tucked away high up on the second shelf and wrapped in plastic, we figured it had to be delicious for someone to go to this trouble to keep it from us. At first, it was nearly impossible to reach, but impetuous Jaxon took it upon himself to jump on my back. With the extra height and a good stretch, he was able to pull that tasty surprise down to the ground where we both could devour it.
We started to tear apart the covering and once exposed, we were staring at a full loaf of raisin bread. We’re big fans of Seinfeld, so we know that a box of raisins is worth stealing, even for a Kramer wannabe. And we might have just scored more than a box of raisins! In a few short minutes we hit the jackpot. We’d never tasted raisin bread before, and we found a new addition to the list of treats we love. At least that’s how it seemed then.
We had all of the quickness and ingenuity we needed, but unfortunately – or fortunately as it would turn out – we came up short in the stealth department. Our squeals of delight over our prize combined with our growls over divvying up the spoils gave us up. This was just the first snag in a long night of snags. Pretty soon, we were staring up at scowling eyes. The pantry raid came to a screeching halt.
The rest of that night and the next day are a blur. In about the time it took us to get into the pantry and drag that loaf of raisin bread down from the shelf, we found ourselves at Blue Pearl Animal Hospital.
When we arrived, everyone was very friendly. In a flash, we were whisked out back. Our first thought was that’s where they have the VIP rooms. Maybe they read our blog and wanted to give us special treatment. That’s what we were thinking, anyway.
People started asking a lot of questions about the raisin bread. They seemed serious and determined, so we both decided to come clean with what we did. This technique works for us quite often. We figured that in no time we’d be happily walking away with a biscuit per usual. No such luck on this night, though.
They gave us a medicine that quickly caused us to cough up the evidence of our caper. We both spilled our beans so to speak and coughed up about 10 or 12 raisins each. If you’ve ever taken a spoonful of medicine with an eager and smiling grin one minute, only to experience fits of coughing the next minute, you can imagine the torture of our situation.
We spent that night with the nice women pictured nearby. They carefully watched over us, checking on us constantly. There weren’t any pantries around, so I don’t think they were concerned we’d be pulling another one of these stunts. They gave us all sorts of tests and stuck us with needles a few times. I try to focus more on the niceness and Iess on the needles because I’m not really fond of needles. I know I look a little more worried than Jaxon, but let’s face it. I didn’t know how all of this was going to end – or even if it was ever going to end. How could I have let Jaxon lead me to this nightmare over a few bites of raisin bread?
Before the end of the next day, we were strolling out of that place, our usual swagger intact. Our terror was finally over. Just then we didn’t have the mental energy to reflect on what we did. We knew we’d have a heck of a story to tell and would need to keep everything clear. Deep reflection would have to come later. Actually, I’m not sure for Jaxon it would ever come at all. He leaves the deep thinking to me.
We recuperated quickly and were back to our usual selves the next day. Still, it never hurts to milk the sympathy card for a few extra biscuits, so I acted like I was deep in thought and reflection. I used my thinking time to jump on the computer and do a little research on raisin bread. Just like the name says, it contains raisins, which is just a dried grape. If I was scared before, my research terrified me again. Raisins and grapes can be fatal to dogs. Fatal is one of those words that I work very, very hard to avoid.
Even though you might not think so, I don’t know everything.
It seems that there are a lot of people that don’t know everything about grape and raisin toxicity in dogs, but this much is known: for some dogs, grapes and raisins trigger kidney failure. Vets don’t know why this happens or what amount of raisins and grapes it takes to create a really bad outcome. It just happens. So, stay clear of raisins and grapes if you want to avoid that fatal word.
If you’re a dog that made the same mistake that Jaxon and I did, get yourself to your friendly vet ASAP and come clean on what you did. They should know to induce vomiting right way, so be expecting that. It won’t be pleasant, but it will get those pesky toxins out of your stomach and lower the chance of hurting your kidneys. You’ll probably require a few tests over the next few days or weeks to make sure your kidneys are functioning fine. Hopefully, all goes well, and you keep that swagger in your step. Mind you, your swagger won’t improve to our level. You’ll just get back to what you had before.
I reviewed the results of my research with Jaxon. I had to communicate the seriousness of what we did. Even if the little guy was scared, it would be good for him if it burned the lesson of our nightmare on his brain. We were in complete agreement on what to do next. We pitched out the rest of that raisin bread and have officially sworn off the stuff. Reading about fatal toxicity has that kind of impact, even for a non-thinker like Jaxon.
Removing raisins and grapes from our treat list is perfectly fine. There are plenty of other safe biscuits for us. Got any?
We just went through this horrible ordeal and, well, we’re pretty deserving.
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