When Daisy Roja’s boxer dog, Sofia, found foil-wrapped chocolate under the Christmas tree, she immediately set to work on eating the lot.
After eating almost two full pounds of chocolate, the dog’s heart rate began to increase dangerously - and she began vomiting.
Why?
Chocolate contains Theobromine, a stimulant that is poisonous to dogs- and the effects can be fatal.
But, thankfully, Daisy rushed her boxer dog to Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital, where they induced vomiting and fed her activated charcoal to stop her stomach absorbing the toxins in the sweets.
The result was THIS very graphic photograph:
This is a great "action shot" of what we start with after your dog presents for a Chocolate Toxicity. Thanks Dr.... > >
Posted by [Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital](https://www.facebook.com/Greenbrier-Emergency-Animal-Hospital-140343093638/) on [Thursday, 18 December 2014](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10152493743813639&id=140343093638&substory_index=0)
The image, which has been shared 102,000 times since being shared on Facebook, was captioned: “This is a great ‘action shot’ of what we start with after your dog presents for a Chocolate Toxicity.
“Thanks Dr. Antonucci for this picture. Thanks to the dog's owner for allowing us to post and bringing her in to be fixed. Thanks to my staff for mopping up the floor. Thanks to the air filters for ridding the office of the smell of yucky chocolate. Thanks to the staff member who totally under estimated when placing a single blue pad to catch the vomit.”
Dr. Cheryl Antonucci later told NBC 29 that, while the image has generated a few laughs, Sofia could have died after eating the chocolate.
She said: "[Sofia] had vomited prior to being here, and she already had a really high heart rate, which are two of the signs of chocolate toxicity, so we knew we had a problem.
“It's a funny picture of course, but also we wanted to educate people about chocolate.”
Wow, we have had a great response to our chocolate toxicity dog.... yes we underestimated the volume to blue pad... > >
Posted by [Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital](https://www.facebook.com/Greenbrier-Emergency-Animal-Hospital-140343093638/) on [Saturday, 20 December 2014](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10152497421558639&id=140343093638&substory_index=0)
Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital later shared an update on Sofie’s progress, along with a thank you to everyone who had helped them share their message about the dangers of chocolate for dogs.
It read: “Wow, we have had a great response to our chocolate toxicity dog... yes, we underestimated the volume to blue pad ratio!
“This picture has really helped people understand the toxicity of chocolate to dogs and it is especially important during the holiday season.”
They added: “I am including a picture of the dog from today to show she is doing great!
“Her family is happy she is well and should be commended for bringing her in and volunteering to share the original picture.
“Thanks for all the great comments. Accidents can happen to anyone!”
Did you know that chocolate could be so dangerous to dogs?
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