Renfrewshire dogs rushed to vet after eating Valentine's Day present

The hungry cockapoos, Jarvis and Dodger, managed to swipe a tub of dark chocolate at their home in Houston, Renfrewshire.

The treat is highly toxic to dogs and can be fatal because it contains a chemical called theobromine, which can poison them.

Lesley Kelly was horrified when she discovered what had happened and raced her two pets to Vets Now in Glasgow for emergency treatment.

Hungry cockapoos Jarvis and Dodger (Image: Sourced)

She said: “The pair of them sleep in the utility room and there was a glass jar of chocolate buttons out of reach up on the worktop.

“But it was sitting on my husband’s newspaper and Jarvis must have got up, pulled the paper and the jar fell to the floor.

“I came straight down when I heard it smash and, although they luckily hadn’t cut their paws on the broken glass, I could see they’d been helping themselves to the chocolate.

“Jarvis was just a tiny pup, and we were really concerned.”

The dogs made a full recovery (Image: Sourced)

The drama happened last Valentine’s Day when Dodger, now three, and Jarvis, who was just nine months at the time, decided to have an early morning feast.

We previously reported how vets brace for festive periods as they see cases spike because pets have access to more presents and treats.

Vets Now also treated 280 dogs last year between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day for eating mince pies, which can tragically be fatal.

Now Lesley is backing vets’ calls for owners to keep chocolates given as presents away from their pets.

She said: “It was really scary, and we’d definitely urge people to be extra careful with any chocolate.

“Dodger was a bit sorry for himself, but Jarvis was jumping up and down and looking as if nothing had happened.

“I didn’t know who had eaten what, but it was quite a big jar and they’d probably shared about 200g of chocolate.

“If I hadn’t heard it could have been twice that, but it was 70% cocoa and I knew that was bad and we needed help right away.”

If your pet has eaten anything potentially harmful you should call your vet for advice as soon as possible.

Vets Now has developed a chocolate calculator on its website to help pet owners determine necessity to see a vet at vets-now.com/app/chocolate-calculator

If you’re unsure whether your pet needs veterinary treatment, you can book an online video consultation with Video Vets Now.

Vets Now is the UK’s leading provider of emergency care for dogs, cats and small animals.  It runs more than 60 out-of-hours clinics nationwide, with 24/7 hospitals in Glasgow and Manchester.