A greedy dog who scoffed 12 of Mr Kipling’s finest mince pies ended up spending the night at her local veterinary surgery attached to an IV drip as vets feared she may have poisoned herself.
Tiggy, a five and half year-old Staffordshire Terrier, broke through a locked child gate at her Dundee home to get to the goodies.
Raisins and sultanas can cause dogs immediate kidney failure, and Tiggy’s owner Lisa Webster feared for her pet’s safety when she realised the pies had been gobbled.
Although the Staffordshire bull terrier was not showing any signs of illness, she spent a night in Parkside Veterinary Surgery in Dundee to minimise her chances of developing kidney failure.
Mrs Webster said: “Tiggy broke through a child gate, lock and normal door catch to get at the pies.
“She loves her pies. She’s a staffie who loves everything that is bad for her.”
Alan Hill, a vet at Parkside Veterinary Surgery in Dundee said his team acted swiftly when Mrs Webster told them what had happened.
“Tiggy had eaten all 12 mince pies and she had eaten them seven hours before we got the call,” he said.
“Raisins and sultanas are very toxic to dogs, they can cause them fatal kidney damage. Kidney failure can develop anything up until two to three days later but I think we caught Tiggy just in time.”
He urged other dog-owners to be mindful of the risks at this time of year, particularly with home baking or other Christmas foods.
“If by mistake a dog does manage to eat raisins or sultanas, we can try our best to make them sick and empty their stomach,” he said.
“Tiggy was a lovely patient and I am pleased to say she has made a full recovery.”