Judgement Day...

[Becki]

John, we can taproot this, do an Ishikawa diagram on the incident, a 5 why, whatever. But you did the most prudent thing you could in the circumstances and went to the vet. No one, and I mean no one, would ever question your actions here. How in the world would you know silica isn't toxic when it says all over the package "do not eat"? The only reason I knew was because I worked where the stuff was manufactured! That is simply coincidence, and even though I had that fact set, I still would have gone to the vet to ensure hydration and avoid blockage. Someone mentioned the possibility of residue from a drug on the packets, which I thought was a really good point to consider and yet one more reason to have the vet involved. In that case, I would have told the vet what med the packet came from to expand treatment possibilities.

You did the right thing with the facts you had at the time. No need to second (or 85th) guess yourself over this one!

 

[Becki]

Ps. In the hopes to make you smile, because you deserve a good smile, I thought I would share silica is a component of that yummy white stuff in Oreos. Yep, some product when into desiccant packages, some toothpaste and some Oreos. When I worked for this company, I had all the toothpaste and Oreos I wanted as the sales group had them for trade shows. Our chemEs would go into mad detail on the process to avoid black spots (who wants Oreos that look as if pepper was sprinkled on them?). I was so sick of Oreos, I still have no desire to eat one! Oh, and it is also in spices to keep them from caking. That silica stuff is everywhere, I tell you!

 

[John Campbell]

John,

I agree with the others and I do not think anyone here is going to Monday morning quarterback your decision. I would have probably done exactly what you did...

That being said...I'm not sure I understand your poll...do you mean that the vet said to put Elsa down? To induce vomiting? Not sure what your intentions are...

What I meant was the initial diagnosis to induce vomiting... Not talking about putting her down, that was way later in the episode and I never would have considered that. The poll was for taking her to the vet as a precaution, or not taking her to the vet and seeing what happens next... For a while, I was almost feeling like I had killed or almost killed her from my haste to take her to the vet in the first place... I have always been the type of person to look back on an event and ask myself, "What could I have Done Better?" and try to improve myself, and that is what I am trying to do here. God forbid if something similar happens in the future either to me or someone else, that I or they can make a quicker and possibly better decision on what to do.

 

[Jacq]

Well, I know when Nimbus swallowed one of those squishy balls, the next day I had to leave for the weekend for something, so I waited until Monday to take him to the vet, while instructing the pet sitter to look for it in his stool. By the time I got him to the vet and had him x-rayed, it was not in his system. Had i rushed him there immediately, they may have done unnecessary surgery on him to remove it. Just a thought.

 

[Eddies]

"I later found out"...I think this answers your self questioning, you saw her with a poisonous substance & took care of it the best way you could.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I believe you did the right thing, it is standard practice if the animal has recently ingested a toxin (not foreign body which they might discuss leaving to see if it passes through) is to induce vomiting. It may be that the agent they used was just not right for Elsa, I'm not sure that is what they have used on my dog the many times he's had that procedure at the vet's.

Maybe the lesson learned is that Elsa is sensitive to xylazine and her chart needs to be marked with that, and you need to disclose that at any emergency room visit too...

 

[Pam Flachs]

I agree with everyone else here. You did the right thing in taking her in. It's very unfortunate Elsa had the reaction she did...the important thing is she survived; you did not give up on her easily and she is once again home with you....

Please don't beat yourself up. Everyone can make a mistake, including professionals.

I agree with Brigitte that Elsa's health information and possible reaction to xylazine should be charted and remembered for any future vet visits.

 

[John Campbell]

I agree with everyone else here. You did the right thing in taking her in. It's very unfortunate Elsa had the reaction she did...the important thing is she survived; you did not give up on her easily and she is once again home with you....

Please don't beat yourself up. Everyone can make a mistake, including professionals.

I agree with Brigitte that Elsa's health information and possible reaction to xylazine should be charted and remembered for any future vet visits.

I am not trying to beat myself, but trying to get other opinions that are not sugar coated... Otherwise, I won't learn from it... I am looking at all the comments and seeing where I can improve... I have been taking those Gel Packs straight to a trash can that has a lid on it... But somehow I guess one got dropped in something that I received. I have gone back through that room and made double sure that there were no more of those packs laying around... Glad to say there were not, but wanted to make sure.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I'm pretty sure you will evermore be paranoid about those dessicator gel packs!

 

[John Campbell]

I'm pretty sure you will evermore be paranoid about those dessicator gel packs!

You can count on that... I will make sure I don't drop any of them... Even small ones...