There's nothing more terrifying than a moment like this for a pet owner.
Steph Cookson was walking her puppy, Bella, with her family in the park when she noticed Bella starting to eat something off the ground. Steph told Bella to "leave it," but by the time Steph realized what Bella was eating, it was almost too late.
Bella had ingested 15 raisins — which are highly toxic to dogs. Even tiny amounts of both raisins and grapes can be fatal for dogs and can cause cause kidney failure within hours.
“I rushed her to the vets and they got her to throw up – she vomited 15 raisins which was a deadly dose," Steph recalled to StoryTrender. "My sons were all left really, really upset by the ordeal."
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Thanks to the quick thinking of both Steph and the emergency vets, Bella is on the mend. "We are keeping an eye on her and she has some bruising on her paws from where the cannulas went in, but she is glad to be home,” she continued.
Steph isn't sure whether the raisins were scattered around the area of the park she was walking on purpose or by mistake, but she hopes her and Bella's story raises awareness about the danger certain human foods pose to our beloved four-legged fur babies.
“I don’t know if it was done deliberately, but it did cross my mind,” she said. “It could also have been someone leaving raisins out for birds, in ignorance about what they do to dogs. I have delivered leaflets on the street asking people to use bird tables if they want to feed birds where dogs can’t reach them. I have spoken to 20 to 30 dog owners who did not know raisins were toxic to dogs so it’s all about raising awareness.”
