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Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville, Ohio

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at
MedVet. My patient was a 56 pound, 5 yr. old male neutered lab mix who ate
half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on
Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1 a.m. on
Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7 a.m.

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute renal failure
but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog
in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet and the
doctor there was like me...had heard something about it but...

We contacted the ASPCA National Poison Control Center and they said to give
IV fluids and watch the kidney values for the next 48 to 72 hours. The
dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal is less than
27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are
monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream.

We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. When we rechecked the
renal values at 5 p.m., the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no
urine production after a liter of fluids. At this point, I felt the dog was
in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to
monitor urine output overnight as well as for overnight care.

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values continued
to increase daily. He produced urine only when given lasix as a diuretic.
He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still could not
control his vomiting.

Today, his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his
creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood
pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220. He
continued to vomit and his owners elected to euthanize.

This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea that
raisins could be toxic. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of
this very serious risk. Poison Control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes
could be toxic.

Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats, including
our ex-handler. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville, Ohio

Even if you do not have a dog, you might have friends who do.
This is worth passing on to them.