Souki’s Winter Warning
Souki, a gorgeous chocolate Labrador puppy spent time recovering with us after her owner saw her licking something off the kitchen floor. When she went to investigate, she realised there were drips of antifreeze which had spilt from a leaking bottle when taking it out to the car. They immediately looked online at the severity of consuming antifreeze and decided to take her to their vets straight away.
Her owner said “Within 30 minutes of her licking one or two drops of the antifreeze, Souki was hooked up to fluids at our local vets and the speed of their actions showed how serious they were taking it. We were terrified she would have lasting health issues or worst. She was only 14 weeks old and so little, so we were really concerned. Although she was not showing any ill effects, we wouldn’t have been able to live with ourselves if Souki had any adverse reaction to the incident.”
Her vets referred her to us so that she could have round the clock nursing care. She was seen by Sophie Dormon one of our Internal Medicine Specialists. Sophie diagnosed her with ethylene glycol exposure and possible toxicity as a result. This can lead to acute kidney damage which can take up to seven days to show up in any blood tests. Souki’s tests were clear but Sophie didn’t want to take anything for granted. Souki was put on an ethanol IV drip and monitored closely before being allowed home and she was checked again a few days later with more blood tests taken to double check for any impact on the kidneys.
Sophie said “Happily, it seems Souki had only ingested very small volumes of antifreeze so escaped any serious complications and hopefully long-term damage. A lot of pet owners aren’t aware how toxic antifreeze is for pets and that’s why we’d urge people to be alert to the problem and make sure they prevent their pets from drinking from water sources outside the home which may have been contaminated with antifreeze. The warning signs are gastrointestinal, like vomiting, wobbliness and increased thirst or urination which can occur within 30 minutes of ingestion. However, by the time certain signs are seen some damage can be irreversible, so it is always better to be safe than sorry and go to your vets if you are concerned your pet might have had exposure to antifreeze or de-icer, as the quicker they receive treatment the better.”
Souki has fully recovered and recently enjoyed a beach holiday, growing bigger every day. Her owners said “We were so reassured during Souki’s consultation with Sophie, while no doubt realising this could be serious we felt well informed and confident we were taking the right steps to give our pup the best chance to have no lasting effects. We arrived frantic with worry and left feeling hopeful and like Souki was in the best of hands. Luckily for us, we were able to collect Souki after two days and she was perfect. She’s made a full recovery and a final blood test 10 days later showed no indicators of lasting effects.”
