Toxic Household Products for Pets

Rat Poison and Antifreeze Dangerous to Pets

By CCC Veterinary Student Priscella Galvin

Two common household products are the most common among poisoning our pets. They are for our use to help us but because of our pets being curious and prone to the sweet smells they are attracted and consume it. I am talking about…

RAT POISON

ANTI-FREEZE

The humane society says that there are at least 6,639 cases of rat poisoning and 10,000 cases of antifreeze poisonings a year.

Just a small amount of any of the two can result in kidney failure, impaired movement, and paralysis in the animal’s hind legs, generalized seizures, depression and death. Clinical signs can show from two to seven days. I remember going through it myself when my Chihuahua, Romeo, got poisoned not too long ago.

I came home from school and noticed he wasn’t himself, he was happy to see me but for some reason wouldn’t move from where he was and when he eventually caught up to where I was he couldn’t jump up, he simply fell down and that’s when I knew something was wrong so I called my dad and we took him to the vet and when we said what we had seen that was when my dad said, “Oh and he ate rat poison last night.”

I got so scared when I heard that, the staff rushed Romeo off to the back and one kept asking questions about how much did he eat, if he had thrown any of it back up and I didn’t know what to say. After all the information was taken all I kept hearing was, “If he were a larger dog…” “If he hadn’t eaten so much…” I was getting scared that I was about to lose my best friend because all I was hearing if, if..

After what seemed like hours they bring Romeo out he was happy and wagging his tail. They gave me his prescription and sent us home. I was lucky but there are other owners that are not simply because they did not see the signs.

My name is Priscella Raquel, I am a Veterinary Assisting student at Community Care College and I have had my love for animals for as long as I can remember and want to do the best I can to continue the well-being and proper care for our furry family members. I plan to keep learning and making a difference in the Veterinary community

Rat Poisoning in Dogs

If your pet should happen to be poisoned by a hazardous substance, contact your veterinarian immediately.  Do not try to induce vomiting without consulting a veterinarian first.

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) is a good resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  If you think that your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, make the call that can make all the difference:

1-888-426-4435 

(A $60 consultation fee may be applied to your credit card).

Note: Always be sure to keep the phone number of your VET and the Animal Poison Control Center near your phone.

Monday – Thursday 7:30AM – 10:00PM Friday – 7:30AM – 5:00PM 4242 South Sheridan Tulsa, OK 74145 Phone number: (918) 610-0027 Fax number: (918) 610-0029

Veterinary Assistant Program
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