With Old Man Winter having arrived in most places, car owners will change or add to the antifreeze in their vehicles. It is also a common agent in Drains or septic tanks of mobile homes or RV’s.
The main ingredient in antifreeze is ethylene glycol, an extremely toxic and lethal poison that causes kidney failure which often leads to death in a few short days.
Antifreeze has a sweet taste that dogs and cats alike are attracted to. A medium sized dog can be killed after ingesting about 2 ounces (3-4 tablespoons ), for cats, as little as 1/4 of an ounce (1-2 teaspoons) can be fatal. More often than not, if they find antifreeze, they will drink it.
If you witness or suspect your dog of ingesting antifreeze, immediately notify your veterinarian, or rush your pet to an emergency vet hospital.
The earlier the treatment is administered, the better chance he animal has of survival. To prevent the ethylene glycol from being absorbed into the liver your veterinarian will administer an IV of ethanol to counter the affect of the deadly ethylene glycol. Once kidney failure develops, most will die.
The symptoms of antifreeze poisoning are time-dependant. They can appear as soon as 30 minutes after the antifreeze has been consumed and may last about 12 hours.
The first symptoms are: depressed behavior (laying still or a lack of interest in the surrounding environment); vomiting; staggering or unsteadiness; tremors or seizures; greatly increased thirst; and frequent urination.
After the early stage, the pet may seem to improve somewhat. However, in a day or two, things will get much worse as the kidney failure sets in. The amount of urine passed will dry up to very little, and at this point, the liver will have broken down the ethylene glycol into more toxic substances.
Further symptoms may not be as obvious, but the irreparable damage may already be occurring. Vomiting may reappear,, as well as loss of appetite, dehydration, the inability to urinate, extreme salivation, seizures, mouth ulcers, coma and eventually, death.
The diagnosis of antifreeze poisoning is made through the examination of blood and urine samples, although some of these tests become negative by the time kidney failure develops.
Pets who suffer kidney failure due to antifreeze poisoning can sometimes have their lives spared with aggressive treatment. Some veterinary practices offer dialysis, which can be used to remove waste not being removed by the damaged kidneys. The hope is that the dialysis will keep the animal alive long enough, and filter out enough toxins, to allow the kidneys to begin repairing themselves.
Unfortunately the kidney damage caused by antifreeze is usually very severe and irreversible. In rare cases, kidney transplants have been performed in dogs and cats but not all are good candidates for this type of surgery, and lack of donor organs is a problem.
When purchasing and using antifreeze, always keep the welfare and health of your pets and children at the top of mind. Keep both new and used antifreeze containers in a sealed location; thoroughly wipe any drips from the sides of the container before storing; properly dispose of all empty antifreeze containers and rags used for wiping; immediately clean up any antifreeze spills on driveways and other hard surfaces, inside or out; antifreeze should never be drained onto the ground where it can form a puddle; be ware of the other source of antifreeze, the decorative “snow globes” popular at Christmas time.
There are also several types of antifreeze on the market now that are propylene glycol based. Propylene glycol, although not entirely non-toxic, is considerably less toxic than the ethylene glycol based solutions. Always keep the safety of those you love on your mind, and you will be able to prevent virtually all serious accidents involving antifreeze or other toxic chemicals.
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A sad tale in Vancouver this week:
A Vancouver couple who lost their beloved dog Charlie to antifreeze poisoning over the weekend is using the tragedy to help protect other pets from suffering the same fate.
Soren Rasmussen and Carla Hetland said they learned too late how to recognize the symptoms of antifreeze poisoning, which kills more than 10,000 cats and dogs a year in North America.
They feel Charlie might have been spared if they’d known what to do sooner.
“I feel like I’ve been robbed,” Hetland said of the experience.
The friendly four-and-a-half-year-old Vizsla — a pointer-retriever breed — died Sunday afternoon, two days after ingesting ethylene glycol, a highly toxic chemical component of antifreeze, while out for a walk with a professional dog walker in Musqueam Park on Southwest Marine Drive.
A second dog also died in the same incident, which has been deemed “suspicious” and is being investigated by the Vancouver Police Department.
Rasmussen said it wasn’t until he got home around 4 p.m. that he noticed his dog was having trouble keeping his balance.
“He was a bit of a drunken sailor,” he said.
Concerned, Rasmussen took the dog to the family’s regular veterinarian.
When the vet was unavailable, Rasmussen headed to another clinic where, by chance, he met up with the owner of the second dog that had been on the walk with Charlie. That dog, too, was staggering and appeared disoriented.
The vet induced vomiting in both dogs, telling the owners the animals had likely eaten someone’s misplaced marijuana.
Rasmussen took his dog home at 8 p.m. that evening, feeling better about Charlie’s prognosis.
At the time, he said, the dog “seemed happy. His tail was wagging … and the vet didn’t say anything about there being any imminent danger.”
By Saturday morning, however, Charlie’s symptoms had worsened. This time Rasmussen and Hetland took the dog to an emergency veterinary clinic where staff immediately suspected antifreeze. The dog was given an antidote, but Charlie’s condition continued to decline.
In a last-ditch effort to save their pet, Rasmussen and Hetland rushed the dog to an animal critical-care unit in Burnaby.
Charlie was, by then, almost completely unresponsive.
“If he heard our voices, his tail would wag a little big, otherwise he would just lie there,” Rasmussen said.
On Sunday morning, the broken-hearted couple made the decision to have Charlie euthanized after learning his kidneys had been irreparably damaged.
In the days since, Rasmussen and Hetland have learned more about the dangers antifreeze poses to pets and have added their voices to a growing animal-rights movement to have antifreeze made with ethylene glycol banned.
In its place, they say, consumers should look for pet-friendly versions made with propylene glycol.
They said pet owners should educate themselves on how to spot the early symptoms of antifreeze poisoning, including staggering, a lack of coordination, disorientation and vomiting. Chances of survival increase with immediate veterinary treatment.
Hetland said knowing where to get the antidote could also prove life-saving.
Death occurs in 88 per cent of antifreeze cases, according to figures provided by the BC SPCA.
Vancouver police Const. Jana McGuinness said Tuesday police were looking into whether the antifreeze poisoning was deliberate. No suspects had been identified.