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15 12, 2022

Grapes and dried fruits – Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and mince pies

2022-12-15T10:33:54+00:00December 15th, 2022|Uncategorized|

Another potential Christmas food hazard are grapes and their dried fruits (sultanas, raisins and currants). This includes Christmas pudding, Christmas cake and mince pies. Ingestion of grapes or their dried fruits can cause renal failure in dogs but this only happens in a minority of cases. Not all dogs are [...]

15 12, 2022

Activated charcoal: one-off or repeat dose?

2022-12-15T10:32:48+00:00December 15th, 2022|Uncategorized|

Activated charcoal is an adsorbent commonly used in the management of both human and veterinary poisoning. Charcoal is treated to produce activated charcoal, a finely powdered material with a huge surface area which is capable of binding to a variety of chemicals; this relies mainly on weak intermolecular forces and [...]

15 12, 2022

Confirmation Using Triple Quadrupole and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry of a Fatal Canine Neurotoxicosis following Exposure to Anatoxins at an Inland Reservoir

2022-12-15T10:31:16+00:00December 15th, 2022|Uncategorized|

Blue-green algae occur in both freshwater and marine environments and are either floating (planktonic) or bottom-dwelling (benthic). Under favourable conditions blue-green algae may form massive growths or visible growths or blooms (most commonly in late spring, summer and early autumn). Exposures in animals usually occur when they drink from water [...]

22 11, 2022

Luminous necklaces/bracelets

2022-11-22T10:23:45+00:00November 22nd, 2022|Uncategorized|

These novelty items are readily available and often chewed/ingested by animals around Halloween and Guy Fawkes’ night. They consist of polyethylene tubing filled with a liquid mixture that gives off a light of various colours. There are normally two components to the mixture, a luminescer (mostly dibutyl phthalate), and an [...]

22 11, 2022

Red berries at this time of year

2022-11-22T10:21:35+00:00November 22nd, 2022|Uncategorized|

Throughout Autumn and Winter, we receive many calls involving animals (mostly dogs) ingesting red berries, whilst on a walk or in the garden. It is often difficult to identify the species of plant, and therefore identify whether ingestion is a toxicological risk. Here, we will discuss the two red berries [...]

22 11, 2022

Alpha-chloralose Rodenticides

2022-11-22T10:20:13+00:00November 22nd, 2022|Uncategorized|

The number of rodenticide enquiries we receive increases as the weather starts to get colder, as rodents attempt to move indoors. The most common type of rodenticides available are anticoagulants, which work by blocking the action of vitamin K, preventing the blood from clotting. Another common active ingredient in rodenticides [...]

22 11, 2022

Fireworks

2022-11-22T10:18:08+00:00November 22nd, 2022|Uncategorized|

Bonfire night is not the only day to be cautious of fireworks, with the whole month seeing an increased prevalence of these mini explosives. Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices that contain many different ingredients; in most cases, the exact composition of ingested fireworks is unknown. Most [...]

11 10, 2022

Pumpkins

2022-10-11T12:55:13+00:00October 11th, 2022|Uncategorized|

As a popular addition to the doorstep at Halloween, pumpkins, which belong to the Cucurbitaceae (gourd) family may be eaten by pets. Fruits of these plants can contain extremely bitter-tasting compounds, but they have been bred out of crop varieties. Generally, if the pumpkin is shop-bought it is not bitter [...]

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