There are some things that most of us know are poisonous for dogs. We’re unlikely to go feeding our pups chocolate or grapes, for example. But, what about palm oil? One dog dad is warning others after his canine nearly died after eating palm oil he found on the beach, Guernsey Press reports.
Craig Hughes, who lives in Guernsey in the Channel Islands off the coast of France, took his two Cocker Spaniels for a walk along the beach last month, when one of them, Flossie, ate a patch of oil they found on the sand.
“Fred and Flossie were just racing around doing dog things, smelling seaweed and saying hello to other dogs and I didn’t pay much attention and didn’t see her eat it,” he said.
“Flossie’s the sort of dog that will eat a dead crab. She’ll eat anything, she’s that sort of dog.”
Craig didn’t realize that Flossie had eaten the palm oil. However, he knew something wasn’t right when she became ill that evening.
“She began to look a bit off-color that night and we woke up to a lot of vomit that had bean-sized globules of white fat in it,” he explained.
Five Nights at the Vet
He took Flossie to the vet, and she spent five nights there with severe pancreatitis. The normal range for fat in a dog’s blood is between 0 and 200 milligrams per deciliter. However, Flossie’s were over 2,000.
“The machine only actually measures levels up to 2,000. She was literally off the scale,” he said.
After Flossie’s blood fat went down to just over 2000, she was able to go home. While Craig was left with a bill of almost £2,600 (over $3,000), he said it’s not about the money: “It’s not the money, they are like having children. This could have killed her.”
While Flossie is doing better, she’s to be closely monitored for a few weeks to keep her fat levels close to normal. And she won’t be having too many treats for a while.
What Is Palm Oil?
Palm oil comes from the fruit of oil palm trees, and is colorless and odorless. It’s often found in food and toiletries, as well as other common household items, and in dog food and treats too. However, it’s also used as a cleaning agent when ships flush their tanks out.
While there are regulations on where ships can offload palm oil, sometimes it’ll get washed up onto the shore. Here, dogs and other animals can ingest it.
