Caution Dog Owners – Don’t Feed Your Dog Raisins

This week (reported to PetWatch on Sunday, Sept. 23rd) I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1 AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7 AM. I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something about it, but.... Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 1 !G times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours. The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care. Even with 3 different anti-vomiting medications, an IV and constant care they could not control his vomiting and within 48 hrs his BUN was over 120, his creatinine at 10. At this point the owners elected to euthanize. This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.Laurinda Morris, DVMDanville Veterinary ClinicDanville , OhioEven if you don't have a dog, you might have friends who do. This is worth passing on to them.