Brilliant Veterinarians Save Puppy’s Life By IVing Him A Liter Of Vodka

Ashley Schaeffer BMW11 years ago

It’s practically a habit for young puppies to consume things they’re not supposed to. If you’re fortunate enough to have a dog, you know this all too well. Sometimes, despite an owner’s most fervent warnings (again, for those canine owners who know this all too well) many pups tend to have a mind of their own and an uncanny penchant for eating anything in their sight that appears remotely appetizing.

This, apparently, was the case for Charlie, a Maltese puppy belonging to Jacinta Rosewarne of Melbourne, Australia. Over the weekend, Charlie, like most pesky pups his age, was doing some good, old-fashioned exploring when he came across an interesting green substance in his master’s garage. Unfortunately, that substance was antifreeze, and although Malteses are renowned for being lovable, they are regarded as far from the most intelligent dog breed out there. Not knowing what he was getting himself into, Charlie found himself licking up the coolant, and eventually he became very sick.

When he was rushed to the vet, the veterinarians at the helm used their Sherlock-like instincts to save Charlie’s life. They were able to deduce that the pup’s predicament was one similar to ethylene glycol poisoning (the technical term for drinking antifreeze) which was, in fact, the correct diagnosis.

The treatment to remedy such a poisoning? Vodka, in Charlie’s case.

Per The Metro:

Charlie was given 700ml of vodka over two days via a tube.

Animal Accident & Emergency wrote on its blog: ‘For the whole weekend, Charlie had a huge party with us in the Pet ICU.’

It almost certainly saved his life – but also left him with an almighty hangover.

Why was vodka the antidote for Charlie?

Well, specifically, ethanol (in this case, substituted for the Russian export) is commonly used in clinical cases as an intravenous (IV) treatment of antifreeze poisoning. It works in alleviating the antifreeze poisoning symptoms by counteracting the key ingredient in the coolant, ethylene glycol, from being metabolized into toxic chemicals in the body. Essentially, this allows the body to remove the ethylene glycol harmlessly through the body’s waste–in simpler terms, it enables one to “pee the toxins out.”

Ahhh, science. Sometimes it’s almost cool, guys. And in this instance, it saved this little Maltese puppy’s life. Sounds like Charlie had a blast being cured, too.

He was definitely drunk,’ said Ms Rosewarne, from Melbourne, in Australia, told the Herald Sun.

‘He was stumbling around, I’d go to pat him and he’d push me away like a normal drunk person, he was vomiting a little, whining like a drunk.’

She added: ‘I thought it was hilarious. It was distressing but funny at the same time.’

Distressing, yet funny–that’s what I usually go for to get the girls.

Well played, Charlie. It’s truly a miracle of science you’re alive and still good-looking today.

[via The Metro]