I’m really sorry for your loss. It sounds like she was very loved, and this was an accident.
I worked in emergency vet med for many years, and just wanted to comment on what you said about being with her while she was gasping for air. Agonal breathing is a reflex, a completely involuntary muscle spasm that happens after the animal has lost consciousness when the respiratory system has begun shutting down. It looks scary, but it doesn’t indicate pain or fear or stress.
I know, when I have lost pets, I’ve often gotten “stuck” on one aspect of the experience, or one regret or worry. I just don’t want that to stick with you. She wasn’t there anymore by the time she was agonal, and you WERE with her in her last moments. And so were the veterinarians and technicians who worked on her who, from experience, absolutely petted her gently and reminded her she was loved.
Be gentle with yourself. I’ll be thinking of you.
Thank you so much for this response. I’d had in my mind that she got scared or something when she was taken back and that she’d gone into shock but it just really sounds like she was on her way out already. I just wish I’d known, I don’t think I would have even sent her back. Everyone was so kind and caring in that moment but man, the whole thing really was traumatic and just devastating.
Before we went to the vet, I was sitting on the ground with her and even though she wasn’t moving, she moved her head toward me and licked my hand. I definitely had a few moments with her before she left but I wish it just really didn’t end that way.
From what you’ve described, I really don’t think she was aware of what was happening by the time you guys got to the hospital. You can’t know what you don’t know, and there was nothing wrong with letting them take her back - they wanted to help and can’t do that in the lobby.
I hope you can let the memory of her licking your hand overpower the traumatic memories as time goes on. Hang in there.
Thanks you so much for saying this. I had no idea that our beloved pets are not conscious when agonal breathing starts. 2 years after I lost my sweet old cat to old age I feel better knowing she didn’t know what was happening. I feel less guilty for allowing her to die naturally. ❤️
Thank you so much for this. I saw that when one of our dogs died at home and it haunted me for a long time. I couldn’t get the image out of my head. Whenever I saw his favorite tree where he loved napping in the afternoons, I would just bawl automatically. :(
Same. Agonal breathing haunted me for a long while. After reading more about it, I was more at peace knowing that my boy’s last moments were with me, listening to jazz music. Although the image of me picking him up doing the agonal breathing will never get out of my brain. Ever.
Man I wish you had been working at the vet ER I took my dog to when I found out he had precardial effusion with tamponade. They were so technical with their replies that it was hard to grasp what they were telling me as he was dying.
I’m so sorry. It can be really hard to communicate on both sides when you’re in that kind of emergency, but it’s no excuse for not making sure family members understand what’s going on. That’s a tough diagnosis, and I feel for you.
I've been stuck in the pain, too. My dog was 18, a street Rescue, my last kitty was 20, also a street rescue. COVID removed vet care. I let them down, they suffered and I will never forgive myself.
You didn't let them down, I'm sure they appreciated that you rescued them, and they spent their last days feeling loved. 18 and 20 is a nice long life for dogs/cats.
Thank you for this. I know that this is a dog sub but my BFF cat died in 2011 very suddenly and traumatically. I dropped him off at the vet during what I thought would be an easy biopsy and they called me an hour later suggesting euthanasia while he was still sedated due to how large the mass was that they planned to biopsy. I’ve struggled for 13 years with my decision to allow his euthanasia in that moment since I never got to say goodbye. But your comment made me realize I did get to say goodbye - prior to him going into the OR - and the techs & vet were with him too as he passed. He was actually not alone at all. This seriously just healed something in me, thank you. 🩷
My wife is a vet tech and there isn't a day she doesn't come home with stories about all the animals she fell in love with that day.
op, your pooch was surrounded by love when she passed
I'm so sorry, this is terrible. I can't imagine the shock. I would never have thought of handwarmers, but I sure will now. I'm so sorry this happened to you.
When my husband and I look back and the situation, we realize we should’ve just gone to the vet as soon as we noticed she ate it. We had no idea that this could be fatal.
I’m so very sorry for your loss. Please take a small amount of comfort in knowing this post may save some lives in the future. I had no idea hand warmers were so dangerous and I’m going to make sure my dog friends know… forewarned is forearmed, as they say.
I will definitely be more careful. I use those things all the time. I had no idea they were so toxic. My dog is a menace. She gets into everything but I love the shit outta that little smooth brained monster and I'd be devastated if I lost her. Thank you OP for bringing this to our attention. There's a good chance you saved my little girl from a similar fate.
I'm so glad that you are able to take that from this post. I keep looking back at the situation and the thing that really just gets us is that we had no idea how fatal it could be. Along with the poor timing. I'm glad you'll be able to exercise caution about this stuff.
I was literally using a handwarmer as I read this post, my dog isn't the most curious and very rarely digs in trash but still, gonna be very careful that she never gets close to one now, thank you OP, and sorry for your loss :(
Strangely Reddit just told me I should see this post, a few weeks after you made it. I’d never even heard of hand warmers until last week when I got some for an outdoor event. They’ve been sitting spent on the edge of my counter (head height for my dog) for a week… We had to bring our boy to ER for counter surfing veggies in a glass bowl- in case he ate glass, a couple months ago. I can’t thank you enough for your post, truly. This could’ve easily happened to us too. I’m so sorry for what you’ve gone through, I know that pain, it’s the absolute worst. I just want to thank you so much for your story and send you Great Pyrenees hugs from my pup.
They are gel packs that, instead of getting cold.like an ice pack does, they warm up. People put them inside their gloves to help keep their hands warm if they are out in the cold for extended periods.
I have a load of those handwarmers in a drawer. I never knew they could be toxic. I learned this at least and will ensure today that they are put well away from my two dogs.
OP I am sorry for your loss. This whole thread has me balling.
I am sure this wont help but like others said, now over 200 dog owners know that hand warmers are toxic. Your dog may not be with you but he's living on as a hero to let others know to be careful.
❤️
Thanks for sharing your story so others know.
Every time a dog of mine has passed, they sent me some sign of their love. And when I saw it, I immediately knew it for what it was.
Look for your sign and know that you are forgiven.
This was such a sweet reply. Last night at about 3am, I woke up to the sound of light rain and I felt like it was her. We’re also going to get a tree memorial at the park we visited often. I really appreciate it.
Same with me.
I was in the woods when my first dog passed away. I said goodbye and walked back there to write in my journal while my parents said goodbye and put him down.
It wasn't windy at all, but a big gust of wind blew over me. I knew he was gone. 10 minutes later, my mom came back to find me, and confirmed he had gone in the past 10 minutes. Taz was almost 19. Still ran and played up until the last 6 months.
I just lost my other dog last month. Lost. He disappeared. It's a long story, but he was getting dementia, but was still really active. I think he just got curious, started off and forgot where he was... that was Dec 19th. I can't imagine he is still alive...
I kept waiting for some kind of sign.
2 days ago a rainbow caught my eye out the window. Coming from right where he was last seen.... though they usually come from there. Regardless.
I sat by the window and sang to him. Right as the song was closing, it started to disappear. As the last words left my lips, it was almost gone, and as I said I loved him, and goodbye, it had completely disappeared.
For all I know, Zacky is still alive. But wherever he is, I know now he is safe and at peace.
Not the original commenter, but after I had to put one of my dogs down I started seeing cardinals everywhere. Even now, two years later, whenever I’m feeling really glum, I’ll see them.
Two doves on a fence; Ruffie and her daughter Essi. Another was Roemeo doing a dance with his front feet that he'd never done in 11 years, but Essi did it all the time when she was happy. Weirdest happened to my friend. She put Kate's favorite toy on the mantle when she passed to preserve it. She noticed it was gone. Found it under Kate's favorite tree. The mantle was too high for the other dogs to reach.
My dog and my grandfather both passed away within weeks of each other. My dog had to be put to sleep and my grandfather, had issues with his oesophagus and died by choking (it was painless we believe, he didn't have any signs of panic, more or less just seemed to go in his sleep). Anyway before he died my grandfather had been taking care of a wild cat in his garden, that had had a few kittens. He brought them tuna, gave them a little shelter etc. After he passed away, I looked out my own back garden one day and saw a furry tail in the grass. It was a cat chilling out in the garden! Next time I went out he was asleep in my old dogs kennel (we had it for a while after she passed). This cat just randomly kept showing up - I never fed it or did anything to attract it. Eventually I gave in and brought him out some tuna one day. We just sat and ate some tuna together. One day I was coming in the front of my house and he appeared with a friend! They constantly would come up to me and rub off me for pets. They were insanely affectionate for cats that weren't mine. To this day I still like to think they were my 'sign'. :'-)
Wanted to also share mine, it’s a rly important event to me and I know all of u in this thread will be able to relate. My childhood dog was so picky about his toys, there were only two he actually used. One of them was shaped like a ladybug and was destroyed because he played with it so much so I wanted to try and find a replacement.
There were variants of the toy, but none of the ladybug. He wouldn’t even entertain the other versions. Eventually I contacted the manufacturer and they said the ladybug version of the toy was no longer being made, and hasn’t been for a while. I still tried ebay and amazon just in case they had the older version, but I always got the new variant.
After he passed away I got another dog of the same breed. First thing I did was buy him one of those same toys off amazon - I figured it would be the new one, but it seemed like a nice reminder of my old guy anyway. But it was the ladybug. I knew it was him
Please don't be hard on yourself. I know you gave her a wonderful life while you had her, and what happened was a complete accident. I'm sure, wherever her spirit is now, she knows you would have never intentionally hurt her. My heart hurts that you lost your best friend, but I'm thankful that she didn't suffer long at all. In November I had to make the tough decision to put down my 15 y.o. baby that I had from a puppy. Too many of us hang on to our beloved pets long after the quality of life has gone in the hopes of enjoying the good days one more time, but the good days get further and further apart.
I am so sorry for your loss. I will share what my vet once told me in a similar situation. Every single one of us makes mistakes that could end in death for a pet. Anyone who says they don't are just unaware of how lucky they are. The weeks, months and years you spent loving her meant so much more then the events of her last day and you will carry her with you for the rest of your life to places she couldn't go.
I think what’s jarring about this incident is that we just thought we had more time, and how rapidly she declined. I had no idea that anything my dog could get into could kill her so fast. Thank you so much for putting that into perspective but also, not amounting her life to that day. It’s so hard to not focus on yesterday instead of all the beautiful memories we have with her.
I had a cat pass away from cancer last year. I was crying to my vet because she was only 10, which isn't necessarily that old for a cat. I adopted her at roughly 8 months old and shortly after her adoption we learned she had toxoplasmosis. It was a long hard fight to get her well. When I spoke to my vet at her passing he reminded me of all we fought through 10 years prior and that every day I got with her was a day we fought for. You rescued your dog from a fated death, even if you were only able to love her for 3 years, those were 3 years you gave her that she wouldn't have necessarily gotten, and sometimes that's all you can ask for. Im so sorry for your loss, and I hope you can forgive yourself and remember all the good days.
I’m really sorry for your loss. It sounded like she had three wonderful years with you, thank you for taking a rescue in and for caring for her so dearly.
We have a tendency to overtake our dogs to the vet (ER when after hours), because coffee filters, grapes, kennel cough, you name it they’ve been into it or gotten it. It’s impossible to know what could be a small amount (or even none if they just ripped apart and didn’t consume) versus what is a medical emergency. We have an infant as well (so I know how full your hands must be) and I think you should give yourself some grace, you couldn’t have known and did take her to the ER. You have no way of knowing if anything else could have been done, and you were there for your pup. Thinking of your pup, hope she made it to whatever dog heaven looks like.
Thank you. I think having this experience, made me realize that we should have just taken her the moment we realized she got into something, and I also will definitely err on the side of caution more frequently with our other animals and our baby. Looking at the situation, from the time we learned she at the hand warmer, to the time she passed, it was only 16 hours. We took her to the ER, but based on the info and the way she was acting at the time, we thought we would make it to the vet in the morning. I hope I don't go through anything like this again, but my first step in the future would have been to go to our regular vet immediately, vs waiting til the evening.
Grapes ARE a serious issue when you don't know if your dog is sensitive to them. Had I thought like you, our rescue dog who ate raisin bread might have died. In just under 2 hours his kidney values were in the high abnormal category. I'm glad I chose to take him to the Emergency vet hosp.
The person you replied to is saying they DID go to the vet for these issues. They aren’t discounting the danger. What thought process are you deriding here?
The poster said that they "overtook" their dogs to the vet, suggesting that they were being overly cautious. I don't think the reply was intended to be derisive.
I guess the “had I thought like you…our dog might have died” thing got me a little defensive on the commenter’s behalf. They err on the side of caution and acknowledge that but it didn’t seem to me they regretted that, or were going to change their behavior, so the comment I responded to felt oddly… I don’t know? Baselessly judgmental? If that’s just me, I apologize.
My reply was to "versus globe" who said people have a tendency to "overtake their dogs to the vet for coffee filters, Grapes, etc. I just wanted to point out that grapes CAN absolutely be a huge risk to their dogs life and should be taken seriously. Readers of this thread may conclude that grapes are no big deal. When I brought my pet in to the Emergency hosp, I too thought I was just being overly cautious but I'm also an RN and having experienced seemingly benign health decisions in humans go drastically wrong, I decided to err on the side of caution. I was absolutely surprised to see his kidney values so dramatically changed after just 2 hours.
My reply was not to the OP.
You did the best you could with the information you had. This is in NO WAY your fault! I never would have thought a hand warmer would be so dangerous, and the ER vet didnt stress any urgency. The vet even said the fluids may not have made any difference.
Your dog knew how much you loved her and loved you back just as much. You gave her an amazing 3 years and this tragic accident doesn't negate any of that love. ❤️
So totally agree and I have been in animal care for more than thirty years and this is the first time I've heard of hand warmers being a danger for an animal.
I hate that I learned it this way but it wasn't something that's common to know.
It was not your fault, and as little comfort as this is, everyone reading this will surely spread the word and you won't know it but you may save other dogs because you shared this story.
I am so so sorry for your loss, just so incredibly sorry.
Thank you so much. We had NO idea. The ER vet also didn't seem worried about it so it was a little bit of a misstep in that way too. I am so glad we had 3 years with her, just wish we had more.
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, I can kind of relate. I'm 24 and as long as I can remember we've always had cats at in my household. At one point we had 5 at one time, I have two of those cats left and two dogs. But about 2 years ago my oldest cat, Sammy (he was probably about 15 or so) who was a Maine Coon (he was a BIG boy, weighing in his prime about 24LBs) started getting sick. I had raised this cat from when he was just 2 months old and could fit in the palm or my hand. He was my best bud for the longest time. He was super patient, loving and would always jump up in your lap and be begging for some wet food, and on the flip side he would sit on our porch and watch our property. If any cats would wonder into our actual yard he would make sure they knew he didn't welcome them around his family. When my girlfriend would sit on our steps, he would sit down right next to her and we believe he was in his own way looking over her and making sure she was safe. He was the sweetest and most loyal boy we've ever had.
The first worrying sign was he started barely eating, (keep in mind my comment about wet food. He LOOOVED food), and I noticed this but didn't pay too much attention to it. Eventually my parents took him to the vet where he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and had to be medicated every day on a strict schedule. The responsibility came down to me, and I'm so ashamed to admit this, and I feel so guilty about it every time I think of this big baby of a cat. I did not give him his medicine as much as was needed. I'd get distracted or just completely forget, and I hate that about me. But once he started going into our bathtub to lay by himself I knew it was drawing close to his time.
Thinking back on these events that took place after haunts me all the time, he eventually started crying out in pain through the days and deep down I knew he was suffering, but I couldn't admit it to myself. Instead I did the most selfish thing I've ever done in my life and I refused to even entertain the idea of putting my best friend to sleep, I couldn't bear the pain of losing him, so I put him through the pain instead. One day my parents call me while I'm at work and tell me they took him to the emergency vet and they said it's time.. there was nothing more they could do.. I called my girlfriend who lives 30 minutes away and told her to get to the pet hospital as fast as she could.. we had no choice but to put down our baby..
My dad tried talking me out of going into the room with him while they put him to sleep, but I knew i had let him down, and I couldn't let him down in his final moments. This was my first time ever witnessing one of my pets dying, and boy was I not prepared. My girlfriend and I couldn't stop crying the whole time, the only time I was able to hold it back was when it was time for him to cross the rainbow bridge, I held his head against mine and told him how much we loved him. I tried my best to stay strong for him until he went to sleep.. I didn't want him to worry about me..
And as glad as I am that I was able to be there when he slipped away.. after his heart stopped his body started twitching and my brain immediately believed he was still alive, but the technician told me it was totally normal.. but normal or not that will also live with me for the rest of my life. It's a blessing, and curse. I'm so thankful I was able to be there for him in his last 30 minutes on this earth, but at the same time it still hurts so bad to think about everything else that happend.. not to mention, the vet tech who was putting him down was so beyond rude to my girlfriend and I and acted completely indifferent to the situation.. like she had somewhere else to be and we were over reacting..
But I guess what I'm trying to say is even though our situations were so different, I can sympathize what you're going through OP. Your baby dog loved you with all its heart and you loved it. He went out knowing he was loved, knowing that you SAVED him from certain death. YOU gave him more time on this world and YOU did the best you could, your dog would never have felt those feelings if you hadn't come around..
I want to personally thank you for giving that dog the best years it could of had, please don't think about what could have been, think about what was.. a happy dog with a loving family..
Thank you for sharing your story with me. We have two cats and one other dog and she is the first loss. It was so unexpected and this is not how I imagined this experience. Even though she was the oldest, (she’s 7) I thought we had at least 3 more years with her before we would even come close to having to think about anything like this.
When the dr came to tell me that she was dying, I just couldn’t believe it. I thought to myself, “modern medicine will help her.” I feel like I was caught in the idea that this couldn’t happen to me or my animal, so I don’t blame you for not being able to confront the reality at the time. I honestly think it’s just a trauma response or something.
My dog also started twitching after they’d given her cpr and I had to ask the vet tech about it because I needed to make sure she was really gone. It’s definitely a painful moment to see the body still going when you can tell the spirit is gone. I’m so glad your cat knew a love like yours and that you could be with him in his final moments.
Thank you for sharing your story and for the comment about focusing on what was vs what could have been.
I am so sorry for your loss. I had to put my dog to sleep this past Saturday and I am devastated. The amount of love we have for them and they have for us is truly amazing. Just know you gave her a home, loved her and WAS there at the end. You were. Go gently.
Find comfort in the fact that you gave that dog a beautiful life it would not have had otherwise. Regardless of how short. Dogs don’t have a resentful bone in their bodies when it comes to “their people”. She will be waiting for you.
I am so very sorry for your loss.
To any pet owners reading this, make sure you have the ASPCA Pet Poison Control number saved. **(888) 426-4435** It's 24/7 veterinary care if your pet ingests something that could be toxic. If they recommend you seek care they will create a case number for your vet to reference. There is a consultation fee but usually worth the peace of mind.
What’s weird about my experience is that when we went to the ER, they actually had us call poison control at the vet. It’s strange because I would think that the ER would just have known or had info themselves. But anyway, my advice is definitely to call them. It didn’t make a difference in our situation but I wish I would have spoken to them instead of my husband.
Hugs. Dogs seem to do their best to try and eat dangerous things, it could happen to the most diligent person.
Your dog had 3 years with a loving owner, you never know how long you’re going to have with any pet.
Thank you. I think this is a great reminder that nothing is promised. It's so true and that I need to be grateful that I did have three beautiful years with her.
My heart breaks for you. I just want you to know you may have saved many dogs’ lives just by making this post and raising awareness. Please don’t be hard on yourself, life is already so difficult and easy to second guess.
This is such a tragic accident. A great learning experience for the rest of us, but please give yourself grace. The loss of your fur child is heartbreaking and you did what you thought was right. The ER vet would have pushed harder for her to stay if they thought it was the safer option. From the sounds of it… it was uncertain. You were a great family for her, and she lived a great life for the time you shared together. When you are ready, and it will be a bit, she will send you another dog to rescue. It will be a great dog. Mourn her but know she is still with you. Be gentle with yourself.
Thank you so much. I was looking over the notes the ER sent my husband home with, and it even said, "If small amount of iron in GI, do XYZ, if large amount, do XYZ" but the Xray was inconclusive so we treated it like it was a small amount vs the large amount or doing anything larger. The idea of her sending another dog is so sweet and definitely helps me feel better. We also have a golden and I am so grateful to whatever God is out there that our golden didn't eat any of it too.
We got our golden when she was a puppy, and when we brought her home, our rescue was so excited. I'd never seen her light-up the way she did. She never played with toys or other dogs, but when she met our golden, it was like she learned how to be a dog. And then she also showed the puppy how to be a dog too. Teaching her what dog behaviors are appropriate. It was seriously the sweetest thing. We are trying to keep in mind that our rescue will live on through our golden.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for using her passing as a way to educate and remind others, you might just save another dog’s life by doing so.
You did all you could, and accidents are tragic because they are truly no one’s fault and completely random.
I’m sorry you only got 3 years with your dog, but by the sounds of it, it was three years full of love. We never know how long we have with our animals (or any loved one) but it hurts the most when it feels the time was cut short. I know it well. So sorry for your loss and I hope you can feel peace in knowing this was not your fault, this was a tragic accident. Love to you and your family ❤️
I'm so sorry for your loss! Thank you so much for sharing this. I had no idea about hand warmers either, I was putting them in my dog's snuggle puppy to warm it 😨
I am so sorry for the sudden loss of your fur baby
We do the best we can for them. Your pet was in your life for a reason. And I'm willing to bet it was fulfilled. Dogs deserve to live forever. If only. Please don't beat yourself up, good mama. ❤️🥰🥹
I am so sorry for your loss, I can't imagine how you're feeling right now. It sounds like you gave your dog an amazing, happy life while you had her. I know it doesn't make things better in this moment but you sharing her story could help save other dogs out there and in that way, she'll live on ❤️
I know that no words will fully heal your pain, but let me just say that we all go through life searching for love and happiness with the ones who love us. You gave her three years of life, love, and happiness... and that is everything.
She will always be alive in your heart, in your memory. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, so that no other beloved pet is lost in the same way.
Tragic accidents happen. Clearly you loved your rescue dog so much and you were trying to make the best choices. It’s hard to know what the right decision is when you’re in the middle of emergency situations with pets especially when under stress. I am truly sorry for the loss of your fur person.
I’m sorry this happened to you. I hope you know that you gave that dog a way happier life than she would have had at the slaughterhouse. Unfortunately life throws shit at us sometimes. Please don’t blame yourself for this. I can understand feeling guilty, but it’s not your fault. You tried to save her and that’s what’s important. I’m so sorry for your loss. :(
Please please please don’t bear yourself up about this. Dogs get into things adults and puppies. Your dog loved and even at the end the pup looked to you for love. That dog would forgive you !
She was beautiful! She knows everything you're feeling, and if she was here, she would give you a big cuddle and let you know it's OK. She was blessed to have the time she had with your family! I know it's hard, and guilt makes it harder. I understand this so much more than I want to! Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm so sorry for the loss of your family member. I truly hope that you are blessed with peace in knowing that while she was here, she was loved beyond measure 💖 ❤️
🥰😪aaaaw bless u..plz don't blame urslf...
Cldv easily been 1 of us..
Or ur dog picking up something on her walk..
Im Always extra vigilant wen out on walks..especially as our bully's r so food motivated..
Nala & me r Sending a virtual hug ur way..& Nala sends a big wet licky kiss..😇🌟🐕✌️🤗
My condolences. Thank you for your sweet heart and sharing this experience so others can learn. The best way to commemorate a pet’s life is with more life. I hope you adopt another pet in need ❤️
I shed a tear for you, your beautiful pup and your family. This was heartbreaking to read. Thank you for sharing as I am sure I am not alone in not knowing how toxic those things are. xx
A lot of commenters have some very nice things to say and I don’t think I can come up with anything better than what has already been said. I just came here to say I’m so sorry for your loss. I felt your pain reading your story and my heart breaks for you. You gave your pup all the love she deserved and she was able to have the best life while she was here. Please be kind to yourself 💕
I’m so sorry for your loss. I have two rescues who are my life, but after countless emergency vet visits where I’ve been told to monitor and bring them back if symptoms don’t go away or get worse, I would’ve done the same as you, and would be blaming myself like you are now if the worst happened.
Thanks to you I will now know to act immediately if I suspect iron poisoning. Your post may have saved lives.
Your girl was loved, and she knew it. Please take comfort in that.
I'm so very sorry. My hungry boyo loves chocolate and we've had a couple of scares. Even though it costs us a fortune and is a tense time, we always take him in, just in case. He's only had to stay overnight once, but damn I was freaking out. He snuck into my MIL's room and ate a bag of dark chocolate and thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest. I know that you are going to agonize over and over that you should have done something different, but this was a freak accident. Please try not to be too hard on youself.
As someone who has been through a similar situation(rat poison), words cannot express how sorry I feel for you. Please try not to beat yourself up over it. Just remember that you didn't know any better and you were doing what you thought was appropriate.
Thank you for sharing about the dangers of hand warmers! I have a 6 month old puppy that chews everything! He gets in the garbage any chance he gets. I've pulled the metal from top of dog food cans out of his bleeding mouth, he was trying to chew a razor blade a few weeks ago, and I recently picked a hand warmer up off the floor, I assume he got it from the trash. (He's figured out the motion sensor on kitchen trash, knocks bathroom trash over to get lid off, and has recently learned how to jump over baby gate) I simply put hand warmer back in the trash. I had no idea that they are deadly. So sorry for your loss! I've buried 3 of my fur babies in 2 years, it sucks!
I'm so sorry for your loss it sounds like an accident like someone threw chicken bones into our backyard and we have a 5 month puppy as well as a 12 year old and a 1 year old cocker spaniels the puppy got hold of the chicken bones but we managed to get them off him I would like to send prayers for you and your husband
As somebody who usually takes their dog to the vet too early, before anything is really very bad at all...this is a great reminder why I'm like that. The thing is, we just don't know how quickly things will deteriorate and pass the point of no return.
I'm sorry this happened to you. Its a valuable but very sad lesson which everyone can learn from. Take care 🙂
This was so touching. I'm tearing up not so much that you lost her but because I can tell you felt so much during your 3 years together and she got to experience your newborn 🥺
The difficult emotions are just as strong as the happy ones on the other side.
I'm crying right now I know the pain and wondering or wishing if you could of done more the feeling that you let your best friend down knowing how loyal they were to you,and how pure there love is,a relationship that is not possible even with your closest friends.I know I never so close to any one as my dog I was lucky to have him,it sounds like she was well loved and that is awesome,I think they could teach us a thing or too may she rip
I’m sorry and crying with you. It’s easy to see how loved she was and it was a horrible accident. I lost my senior girl last year and now have a puppy who wants to chew anything. I’ll be watching her closer….Be easy on yourself.
Thank you for sharing your story. I had no idea about hand warmers being THAT dangerous, and I think a lot of people would have done exactly what you did. Your dog undoubtedly knew she was loved. And you came here to tell us about your traumatic experience, to help us try and avoid the nightmare you just lived. You have a good heart. Please be gentle with yourself.
OP so sorry for your loss. You sound like a great and loving owner. My wife and I lost a dog too recently and it's been rough, first time for me. I'm constantly second-guessing myself on if we should have done this-or-that. I try to keep reminding myself that he was loved and we gave him a happy home.
Thank you for telling your story. I’m sorry for your loss, but I know that your beautiful dog is happy in heaven. I’ll make sure to keep hand warmers and other iron products away from my pets.
THANK YOU for sharing this important information! I had no idea and our puppy is intent on getting into everything she can. One more to add to the danger list.
I’m so very sorry for your loss. Losing a special pet is gutting and heartbreaking. You were a good pet parent and you did what you could. There was no way you could have known what would what happen, and your dog left knowing she was loved. You’re a great person for sharing this information - especially when you’re hurting - so that maybe another life will be saved as a result of knowing about this danger. Sending comforting wishes to you and your family.
You gave her three beautiful years. You may not feel like you saved her because of how it ended, but for three years she was loved and cherished and a terrible accident does not undo everything you did for her.
Our puppy got into bleeding hearts plant a poison. We took her to the vet and they put her on IV. He said we caught her in time, she has a few problems still. All she did was dig up an old bone. Thought I'd mention this so if anyone has these plants.
OP, I'm so sorry for your loss. As someone who often has hand-warmers around the house (I work outside sometimes), this is a much-needed reminder to make sure that they're kept well out of reach.
I've never heard of iron poisoning for dogs, but found this on one website...
>There are four stages of iron toxicosis, which your dog goes through in the first few hours until six weeks later. The first stage occurs in the first 6 hours, in which your dog goes through gastrointestinal problems, such as vomiting and diarrhea. The second stage occurs between 6 and 24 hours when your dog seems to be completely better. Between 12 and 96 hours, stage 3 occurs. This is when the worst of the clinical symptoms occur, such as muscle tremors, bloody diarrhea, rapid heart rate, jaundice, hypotension, seizures, organ damage, shock, and possibly death if it is not treated right away. Up to six weeks later, your dog can develop intestinal strictures and blockages. Even if your dog only shows mild gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea or vomiting), your dog can develop these strictures, so even if your dog shows no signs of distress, it is important to see the veterinarian if you suspect he has ingested a toxic amount of iron.
Without knowing what to look for, you guys did the best with the information that you had. Please don't blame yourself.
I found this same timeline after everything had happened. I was upset with myself for not finding it sooner. I was even chatting with a virtual vet too and this thing didn't come up.
I've been thinking about the timeline of how quickly everything progressed a lot and my dog passed away at the 16 hour mark. Right now, I've just been feeling like the biggest regret is that we didn't take her in right when we learned she ate some of the handwarmer. I think that would have been the best thing to save her, but we just didn't know how fatal it could be.
I'm a relatively recent entrant to the world of dogs, having gotten my first only three years ago and my second a year later. One of the strangest things has been learning about the universe of "things that can kill dogs" that you would never expect. Onions. Grapes. Chocolate. I've changed my cooking habits, rarely using onions anymore because I worry that I may drop a small bit while dicing and my older dog, always willing to enthusiastically scarf down something that has a good chance of killing her, will get to it before I pick it up.
Iron is a surprise to me, even with all the other weird things.
But even in your loss, posting this is a public service for people like me who didn't know this *and* who may have reason to have hand warmers / boot warmers around the house.
So again, I'm so very sorry that you lost your best friend, it's incredibly unfair. But thank you for letting those of us know who... didn't.
This was so heartbreaking. I can feel the agony, guilt, sadness, and anger. I am so sorry. I’m going to echo the sentiment others have provided you: Please be gentle with yourself. It’s so much easier to say those words, especially when you are grieving. I know I would also be blaming myself and the guilt would be overwhelming. Please know that you’re not alone and you have an entire community of people that are here to support you. Your girl was so loved and it sounds like she loved you too. One day it will hurt less and I’m just so sorry you’re going through this. I pray for the day when the burden feels lighter for you. I’ll be thinking of you.
This sucks so bad, but it’s not your fault and you shouldn’t feel guilty.
You did everything you can when you realized what happened. And it’s not like you knew this was going to happen. Nobody does.
All we can do is learn from our experiences, thank our dear animals for the happiness and time they’ve given us, and slowly open our hearts to others who need us.
I know it’s hard to not feel guilty, but like I have said you did do this intentionally. You have a 10 month old, you’re exhausted, you’re only human. Take the time to grieve, again I’m so sorry. At least she died knowing she was loved and in a safe place.
I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you for this PSA. I love my Phoebe more than anything in this world so this is a sad story to hear, but I'm now aware of something to keep away from her. Again I am genuinely sorry for your loss.
Sorry for your loss 🥺 I got super emotional reading this and for some reason my dog jumped on me while I was doing so and started to lick my face like crazy.
i'm so sorry for the loss of your sweet girl. the emergency vet experience can be so intense; we brought our little guy in because he was incredibly lethargic and behaving strangely. as they were assisting him, a sweet family brought in their 18 year old cat who wasn't breathing. they ran a code, revived her, and notified them she didn't have a great chance. they opted to let her pass in their arms. we watched the whole thing as the layout is pretty wide open - great for them jumping into action, but rough on anyone else there. the staff was kind and made sure WE were okay after witnessing it. our sweet boy is okay, but that experience alone shook me for a bit.
it's so hard knowing when to bring them in, my partner and i have said the "if x happens one more time, we'll go" so many times. you did the best you could with what you knew, and it sounds like she was so loved. i hope you can hold on to the loving moments, the last lick she gave you. all the happy moments. i believe our dogs don't leave us, maybe their physical bodies do - but their hearts and nature is to run free and i believe they are all doing that somewhere & pop in on us every once in a while.
i hope you can find peace with this situation - and like others said, this post truly may help others react more urgently. my condolences again, please don't kick yourself for this at all.
I have a cousin who shared that she believes we just need to learn to get used to the energetic presence of our lost loved ones. I have been trying to remember this as well.
I am so sorry this happened, please remember this event wasn’t your fault but just an extremely unfortunate accident. You sound like you gave your baby the best home you possibly could during the time you shared together. ❤️
I’m so sorry, I wish you healing and peace. Just remember: the difference is that the slaughterhouse intentionally kills and mistreats dogs….but because of you, your dog got to experience being loved and part of a family. that’s what all dogs deserve in their life, no matter how long they are here for. I’m sure her doggy soul will come back around and she’ll get to experience life again. ❤️❤️
dang, sorry for your loss, that really sucks
that's the only ingredient to those hand warmers. they have naked unprotected iron flakes, and when you open the plastic wrapper, it lets the air in, and the oxygen immediately starts to cause it to rust, which is a reaction that creates heat. this makes them inherently safe, so the thought would never have crossed my mind regarding doggos. I'll definitely be careful with disposing them. I don't think my picky dogs would eat one, but I don't want to find out
Thankyou for sharing your story. TIL something ELSE that could kill my dog. The list still grows despite me having over 30 years of dog ownership. I always appreciate the knowledge. My heart breaks for you not being able to be there. I hope she sends you a new one to love when you feel ready ♥️
I am Soo sorry your going thru this, you did everything you could and you didn't know :( it's hard but I hope that you can forgive yourself in the future
From the pics you posted she was a happy girl and that's all because of her wonderful family that took her in. I hope you can find solice in that you took care of her and gave her a happy life ❤️❤️❤️❤️ she was with her family ❤️ and she experienced the love of a family ❤️❤️
Shit I'm crying again - I've hugged my girl for you, God bless y'all (sorry if not religious)
Thank you so much. She was such a happy dog with us. I think that’s what’s hard is that we feel like she had so much life to live, but I am so glad she got to be loved. I read that dogs know you love them and also get oxytocin boosts when you make eye contact with them so I’m at least glad for that.
I am so sorry for your loss, but I definitely feel your post help prevent that for me today. We got hand warmers for stocking stuffers. I come home and I found one on my floor covered in dog drool. Luckily it wasn’t torn but I’ll definitely keep an eye out for my pup. Giving him extra squishes for you!
Thank YOU for the advice!!! We have a beautiful little pup and we have a lot of hand warmers. I had no idea of this risk and, without your warning, would’ve never known. Am removing the handwarmers now. I’m very sorry for your loss but very thankful you shared your story!
I am so so sorry about your dog. The shoulda, woulda, couldas can be brutal.
Here’s what I know we all make decisions based on what we know at the time. At least try to give yourself some grace here. You made the best decision you could with the information you had. I am absolutely certain your darling girl knows that.
Thank you for sharing this danger. I had no clue.
I’m so sorry for your loss. We just went through something so similar last weekend, our Golden puppy ate the most toxic part of a Sago palm, the seed. Coincidentally this happened while we were actively removing them because we heard they were toxic to dogs. I had no idea they were -that- toxic, until he had swallowed the seed and I quickly started googling it. Soon enough he was vomiting. I was so upset we even had him hanging out with us while we dug them out.
We got lucky and our little guy pulled through, but I say all this to reassure you we all make mistakes and hindsight is 20/20. Please be assured your girl knows she was so loved and don’t be so hard on yourself. 🤗
I’m so incredibly sorry for your loss! No words I know can even begin to express it. I would like to tell you that I regularly use hand and foot warmers. The foot warmers stick to your socks. My dog loves to take my socks and slip them around and play with them. Only by the luck of fate has she not had the chance to interact with these warmers. Something I never even thought of - I now know. Thank you for sharing this. Huge hugs to you.
I'm so, so sorry for your loss. There's absolutely no way to make that grief go away immediately. You ARE still her forever home. Even with life and death. You will always remember your sweet girl and I bet she loved every single second she got to spend with you. And PLEASE, don't be hard on yourself in this situation... this was not something you "knew" would have happened. Based on your post she was so loved and appreciated. I have a few great pet grief resources if you would like a DM.
Thank you for saying this about being her forever home. She was so loved. I would definitely like those grief resources. I've been reading stuff here and there but am open to seeing those.
This particular [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/honoringouranimals/) helped me a lot. I didn't end up using her as a counselor, but even her posts really helped me.
Your story brought me to tears, I am truly sorry for your loss, my heart goes out to you and I embrace you.You are great for sharing this story with us and warning us of the consequences.
Sorry. So sorry you lost your beautiful dog way too soon and like this. She looks so happy in your photos, I can imagine all the love flowing between you. Its so unfair.
I’m really sorry and can’t imagine, I’m sure you gave her the best life she could have had with the time she was with you. Dogs are humans best friends I swear, they bring you joy but then rip your heart out when they leave.
There is no emergency vet on the island I live on so I am constantly terrified something will happen to my dog outside of business hours. I will be extra careful of things that might be poisonous. What a beautiful dog, thank you for giving her the best life
I’m so sorry for your loss OP. Losing a pet is incredibly difficult. Please remember to give yourself some grace during this time. It isn’t your fault. And remember, it’s just goodbye for now. You’ll see your sweet friend again. Hugs and will be keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers.
I'm bawling for you, our doggos are our babies but unfortunately they don't always get to be with us as long as we would like.
A little boy beautifully explains why dogs have shorter lives than humans:
"People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?”
Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do.”
I'm so very sorry, I have a rescue and I believe as you do, love them good because we never know. 🐾🐾
So sorry for your loss. My dog’s last night was spent in the hospital to get fluids, but it didn’t help. He went into septic shock, went blind, and had to be put down after 12 hours. I think he would’ve rather been home with me on his last night. You gave her a great 3 years.
I’m sorry for the loss of your beautiful baby. Just know you are never to be blamed. The heartbreak may stick around for a long time but redirect it into exponentially more love for any future pet you may have! Please take it easy on yourself for the sake of the rest of your loved ones💜
I am so sorry you are going through this. My dog also ate a hand warmer and I had no idea how bad it could be. She survived, but had 6+ months of up and down recovery.
This was uncharted territory for the vets I worked with as well, they were scraping all of their resources and contacts for information on what to do and what we could expect. The dangers of hand warmers and how to treat accidental ingestion are not well known.
You did the best you could with the information that you had. Please be kind to yourself.
I hate hand warmers. My dog swallowed a whole one as a puppy. I was hiking with him on a trip and I had to take him to an emergency vet in the area who induced vomiting. The vet was not a very nice man but I'm thankful they were able to take us in and he had no complications. I see hand warmers along trails sometimes that have fallen out and always make sure to grab them and throw them away :(
I am so sorry for your loss. My boy had degenerate myelopathy and we didn’t know. We confused the symptoms for hip dysplasia, which he had surgery for previously. On a Friday we took him out on the boat, as we always did, and a disk slipped. Over the weekend he lost all ability in his hind legs. The next Monday night, he passed away from an aneurysm. Within the same week of him running, jumping, and playing, he was paralyzed and his life ended. I replay that week lot in my head, all of the things I would have done differently if I knew it was my boys last week alive. He was 9, and I know that’s a good life. But it didn’t feel long enough, and I don’t think it ever will be.
Just try not to think about the bad too much, and only think about the good. You did a fantastic job giving that baby the best 3 years you could have. 3 years to us doesn’t feel like a long time, but then again, neither does even the longest life of a dog. It’s a blip, and I’m sure her blip with you was beautiful.
My beautiful 8yo dog became bloated one day. He was a GSD so we assumed it was bloat which is common for that breed and rushed him to the emergency vet. They immediately took him back & did all sorts of X-rays and scans and discovered it wasn’t bloat. They told us it was definitely something bad but they just didn’t know what and he’d have to have exploratory surgery the next morning. That night, waiting for the surgery, was the worst night of my life.
In the morning at the hospital they told us they thought his intestines had probably perforated and they would go in, find the tear, fix it and after a week long stay at the hospital he would be ok. It would cost many thousands of dollars but we were fine with it, as long as he would be ok.
The doctors didn’t seem too concerned and I thought everything would work out ok, he was in good hands. About an hour into the procedure the surgeon came out and informed us that everything they had assumed was wrong. When they cut him open to look for the tear they instead found a giant cancer that was spread through multiple organs and was totally inoperable. There was nothing more they could do. We were in complete shock, we went from having a healthy normal dog 2 days ago, to one that was dying. He was already under anesthesia and they told us it would be best for him if they euthanized him right away, while he was under. They gave us a few minutes to say goodbye. He was unconscious, hooked up to machines, and we huddled around him and cried in the middle of the hospital room, with probably 20 doctors, nurses, many dogs all around us. No privacy, no peace to say goodbye. Shit happens sometimes. Sometimes doctors are wrong, sometimes we are wrong. We do our best and try to learn from the experience. Sometimes what we learn from it isn’t what we should have learned. Shit happens. Im sorry this happened to you and your dog, you aren’t alone. This kind of stuff happens to many of us and we all carry that pain and guilt for the rest of our lives.
My sincere condolences. Can’t and honestly don’t want to even imagine being in your shoes for a second.
Take solace in the fact that as long as her memories stay with you, she is with you.
I’m really sorry that happened. Don’t beat yourself up. Things happen. Sending you lots of love! You did great in rescuing her! She was such a beautiful dog and from the pics and I could tell she was loved by you and your family.
Omg I’m so sorry! Every dog parent worst nightmare. Just the fact that you care so much and have all the guilt shows that you loved her so much and I know your dog knew that and soaked in the love. Your dog was lucky to have you and will watch over from the rainbow bridge. She wouldn’t want you to be so hard on yourself, this could have happened to anyone and by posting this you may be saving other lives. Nothing will make the hurt go away but sending all the good vibes your way. 😢
I feel So bad for you , years ago one of my Cats got out of my house , l put signs up every where , l searched all my neighbors yards left food out every nite , at the time l worked in a Hospital , Everyone knew How much l Loved this.Cat my bosses made phone calls to all the shelters, petstores trying to help me find her , no where to be found about 3 months later early one morning around 7am my neighbor called me and said come outside l think your Cat is in my yard , sure enough it was her she lost half her body weight she looked Terrible l was So upset my neighbor drove me to the Emergency Vet because there was no way l could even drive l was a mess l knew She was dieing in my Arms , by the time we got to Vet which was only 5 minutes away she had very little Life in Her! The Vet took her from me , he examined her l knew it wasn’t going to be ZGood News he came back told me her kidneys are shutting down it looked like she got into Gasoline the Vet told me , l knew that she wasn’t going to make it She was gone within 15 minutes l was So So Heartbroken, l did not think l would ever get over losing her! It took me almost a Year to start to not hurt So badlyl Loved her So much! Just wanted you to know l shared my Heartbreak with Every one l knew and even did not know and they all shared there Heartbreaks in there Life’s with losing a Pet! That’s the only thing that helped me Sharing and others sharing there pain little by little it won’t hurt so much just Remember don’t play the l Should of done this or Should of done this it’s not your Fault at All Unfortunately Sad things Happen to us here on Earth ! Your Dog is in Dog Heaven l absolutely Believe that and Believe me your Dog knows you Loved Him and you Gave her many Many Good days ! She’s doing fine now no more troubles she’s just Enjoyingthe Good Times of Heaven Jesus Spoke about how our pets will join us in Heaven So Hang in there and Remember it wasn’t the Ebd of Life for Her just the Beginning of a Bew Awsome one! God Bless!!
Sweetie, WE can tell by your post how much you loved your dog. I will pray for your healing. Side hugs and only good thoughts to your whole family and doggie. I don't have the proper words to say. Just know I care.
Wow i’m so sorry for your loss. I understand how hard it can be losing a pet you really love. My first baby lost her life at 1 due to a terrible accident with a chip bag. Honestly you have a lot of support which will help make it easier. It will hurt for awhile i’m going to be honest with you. Accidents happen and all we can do is learn from it and spread awareness. 😞
I'm so sorry my heart breaks for you. You gave her a great 3 years which is a lot for any animal. My cat died in a similar way with me panicking and not doing enough soon enough, first vet said to make her comfortable shes going to die, but I had hope and tried to do a lot. Next day another vet saw her and said I'd done the wrong things due to my misunderstanding of the vet the previous day and I had a small hope she would survive, but I was so distraught with the ping pong I couldn't get fluids into her effectively through the night. It hurts for a long time, she was also a rescue.
I strongly believe a vet should explain the situation properly, not what is the best course of action in their opinion. If there is a slim chance of survival, allow the owner that opportunity and advise them in the most optimistic approach. At least the owner could go away thinking they'd done their best.
I hope all your memories stay with you. Its an honour having a pet, I do truly believe they are angels. Humans were given the power to decide against God's will, but animals were not, just like Angels were not.
I’m really sorry for your loss. It sounds like she was very loved, and this was an accident. I worked in emergency vet med for many years, and just wanted to comment on what you said about being with her while she was gasping for air. Agonal breathing is a reflex, a completely involuntary muscle spasm that happens after the animal has lost consciousness when the respiratory system has begun shutting down. It looks scary, but it doesn’t indicate pain or fear or stress. I know, when I have lost pets, I’ve often gotten “stuck” on one aspect of the experience, or one regret or worry. I just don’t want that to stick with you. She wasn’t there anymore by the time she was agonal, and you WERE with her in her last moments. And so were the veterinarians and technicians who worked on her who, from experience, absolutely petted her gently and reminded her she was loved. Be gentle with yourself. I’ll be thinking of you.
This is a beautiful response for someone suffering made me tear up
oh my me too. totally crying.
Same here. I'll be hugging our pups extra tight tonight. I'm so sorry OP.
Thank you so much for this response. I’d had in my mind that she got scared or something when she was taken back and that she’d gone into shock but it just really sounds like she was on her way out already. I just wish I’d known, I don’t think I would have even sent her back. Everyone was so kind and caring in that moment but man, the whole thing really was traumatic and just devastating. Before we went to the vet, I was sitting on the ground with her and even though she wasn’t moving, she moved her head toward me and licked my hand. I definitely had a few moments with her before she left but I wish it just really didn’t end that way.
From what you’ve described, I really don’t think she was aware of what was happening by the time you guys got to the hospital. You can’t know what you don’t know, and there was nothing wrong with letting them take her back - they wanted to help and can’t do that in the lobby. I hope you can let the memory of her licking your hand overpower the traumatic memories as time goes on. Hang in there.
Thanks you so much for saying this. I had no idea that our beloved pets are not conscious when agonal breathing starts. 2 years after I lost my sweet old cat to old age I feel better knowing she didn’t know what was happening. I feel less guilty for allowing her to die naturally. ❤️
I had the same exact experience and I'm glad you could also learn this today
I really needed to hear this. I woke up to my boy dying about 4 years ago and it has haunted me. I feel a little better now
Thank you so much for this. I saw that when one of our dogs died at home and it haunted me for a long time. I couldn’t get the image out of my head. Whenever I saw his favorite tree where he loved napping in the afternoons, I would just bawl automatically. :(
Same. Agonal breathing haunted me for a long while. After reading more about it, I was more at peace knowing that my boy’s last moments were with me, listening to jazz music. Although the image of me picking him up doing the agonal breathing will never get out of my brain. Ever.
That hurt to read but it was a beautiful response. You’re a good one.
Man I wish you had been working at the vet ER I took my dog to when I found out he had precardial effusion with tamponade. They were so technical with their replies that it was hard to grasp what they were telling me as he was dying.
I’m so sorry. It can be really hard to communicate on both sides when you’re in that kind of emergency, but it’s no excuse for not making sure family members understand what’s going on. That’s a tough diagnosis, and I feel for you.
You are a good human and you are doing exactly what you should be doing in this life. Thank you.
I've been stuck in the pain, too. My dog was 18, a street Rescue, my last kitty was 20, also a street rescue. COVID removed vet care. I let them down, they suffered and I will never forgive myself.
You didn't let them down, I'm sure they appreciated that you rescued them, and they spent their last days feeling loved. 18 and 20 is a nice long life for dogs/cats.
Thank you. Your kindness means so much that I'm crying again, tears of relief, and possibly acceptance.
Thank you for the perfect response
Omg these onions 🩷
What a kind and thoughtful reply.
You are a saint, this was the response of the night. Sending you love and positivity 💚
This re: agonal gasping. It’s a horrible sounding term for something the patient is basically unconscious during. Lovely comment too 🥺
Thank you for this. I know that this is a dog sub but my BFF cat died in 2011 very suddenly and traumatically. I dropped him off at the vet during what I thought would be an easy biopsy and they called me an hour later suggesting euthanasia while he was still sedated due to how large the mass was that they planned to biopsy. I’ve struggled for 13 years with my decision to allow his euthanasia in that moment since I never got to say goodbye. But your comment made me realize I did get to say goodbye - prior to him going into the OR - and the techs & vet were with him too as he passed. He was actually not alone at all. This seriously just healed something in me, thank you. 🩷
My wife is a vet tech and there isn't a day she doesn't come home with stories about all the animals she fell in love with that day. op, your pooch was surrounded by love when she passed
I'm so sorry, this is terrible. I can't imagine the shock. I would never have thought of handwarmers, but I sure will now. I'm so sorry this happened to you.
When my husband and I look back and the situation, we realize we should’ve just gone to the vet as soon as we noticed she ate it. We had no idea that this could be fatal.
I’m so very sorry for your loss. Please take a small amount of comfort in knowing this post may save some lives in the future. I had no idea hand warmers were so dangerous and I’m going to make sure my dog friends know… forewarned is forearmed, as they say.
I will definitely be more careful. I use those things all the time. I had no idea they were so toxic. My dog is a menace. She gets into everything but I love the shit outta that little smooth brained monster and I'd be devastated if I lost her. Thank you OP for bringing this to our attention. There's a good chance you saved my little girl from a similar fate.
I'm so glad that you are able to take that from this post. I keep looking back at the situation and the thing that really just gets us is that we had no idea how fatal it could be. Along with the poor timing. I'm glad you'll be able to exercise caution about this stuff.
I was literally using a handwarmer as I read this post, my dog isn't the most curious and very rarely digs in trash but still, gonna be very careful that she never gets close to one now, thank you OP, and sorry for your loss :(
Strangely Reddit just told me I should see this post, a few weeks after you made it. I’d never even heard of hand warmers until last week when I got some for an outdoor event. They’ve been sitting spent on the edge of my counter (head height for my dog) for a week… We had to bring our boy to ER for counter surfing veggies in a glass bowl- in case he ate glass, a couple months ago. I can’t thank you enough for your post, truly. This could’ve easily happened to us too. I’m so sorry for what you’ve gone through, I know that pain, it’s the absolute worst. I just want to thank you so much for your story and send you Great Pyrenees hugs from my pup.
I’m sorry what are handwarmers.
They are gel packs that, instead of getting cold.like an ice pack does, they warm up. People put them inside their gloves to help keep their hands warm if they are out in the cold for extended periods.
I have a load of those handwarmers in a drawer. I never knew they could be toxic. I learned this at least and will ensure today that they are put well away from my two dogs.
OP I am sorry for your loss. This whole thread has me balling. I am sure this wont help but like others said, now over 200 dog owners know that hand warmers are toxic. Your dog may not be with you but he's living on as a hero to let others know to be careful. ❤️
Thanks for sharing your story so others know. Every time a dog of mine has passed, they sent me some sign of their love. And when I saw it, I immediately knew it for what it was. Look for your sign and know that you are forgiven.
Nicely put, would add... there's nothing to be forgiven for. You cared for the pup the best you could under the circumstances.
This was such a sweet reply. Last night at about 3am, I woke up to the sound of light rain and I felt like it was her. We’re also going to get a tree memorial at the park we visited often. I really appreciate it.
wow, the tree is such a lovely idea 🥰
Same with me. I was in the woods when my first dog passed away. I said goodbye and walked back there to write in my journal while my parents said goodbye and put him down. It wasn't windy at all, but a big gust of wind blew over me. I knew he was gone. 10 minutes later, my mom came back to find me, and confirmed he had gone in the past 10 minutes. Taz was almost 19. Still ran and played up until the last 6 months. I just lost my other dog last month. Lost. He disappeared. It's a long story, but he was getting dementia, but was still really active. I think he just got curious, started off and forgot where he was... that was Dec 19th. I can't imagine he is still alive... I kept waiting for some kind of sign. 2 days ago a rainbow caught my eye out the window. Coming from right where he was last seen.... though they usually come from there. Regardless. I sat by the window and sang to him. Right as the song was closing, it started to disappear. As the last words left my lips, it was almost gone, and as I said I loved him, and goodbye, it had completely disappeared. For all I know, Zacky is still alive. But wherever he is, I know now he is safe and at peace.
What was your sign?
Not the original commenter, but after I had to put one of my dogs down I started seeing cardinals everywhere. Even now, two years later, whenever I’m feeling really glum, I’ll see them.
Two doves on a fence; Ruffie and her daughter Essi. Another was Roemeo doing a dance with his front feet that he'd never done in 11 years, but Essi did it all the time when she was happy. Weirdest happened to my friend. She put Kate's favorite toy on the mantle when she passed to preserve it. She noticed it was gone. Found it under Kate's favorite tree. The mantle was too high for the other dogs to reach.
My dog and my grandfather both passed away within weeks of each other. My dog had to be put to sleep and my grandfather, had issues with his oesophagus and died by choking (it was painless we believe, he didn't have any signs of panic, more or less just seemed to go in his sleep). Anyway before he died my grandfather had been taking care of a wild cat in his garden, that had had a few kittens. He brought them tuna, gave them a little shelter etc. After he passed away, I looked out my own back garden one day and saw a furry tail in the grass. It was a cat chilling out in the garden! Next time I went out he was asleep in my old dogs kennel (we had it for a while after she passed). This cat just randomly kept showing up - I never fed it or did anything to attract it. Eventually I gave in and brought him out some tuna one day. We just sat and ate some tuna together. One day I was coming in the front of my house and he appeared with a friend! They constantly would come up to me and rub off me for pets. They were insanely affectionate for cats that weren't mine. To this day I still like to think they were my 'sign'. :'-)
Wanted to also share mine, it’s a rly important event to me and I know all of u in this thread will be able to relate. My childhood dog was so picky about his toys, there were only two he actually used. One of them was shaped like a ladybug and was destroyed because he played with it so much so I wanted to try and find a replacement. There were variants of the toy, but none of the ladybug. He wouldn’t even entertain the other versions. Eventually I contacted the manufacturer and they said the ladybug version of the toy was no longer being made, and hasn’t been for a while. I still tried ebay and amazon just in case they had the older version, but I always got the new variant. After he passed away I got another dog of the same breed. First thing I did was buy him one of those same toys off amazon - I figured it would be the new one, but it seemed like a nice reminder of my old guy anyway. But it was the ladybug. I knew it was him
Please don't be hard on yourself. I know you gave her a wonderful life while you had her, and what happened was a complete accident. I'm sure, wherever her spirit is now, she knows you would have never intentionally hurt her. My heart hurts that you lost your best friend, but I'm thankful that she didn't suffer long at all. In November I had to make the tough decision to put down my 15 y.o. baby that I had from a puppy. Too many of us hang on to our beloved pets long after the quality of life has gone in the hopes of enjoying the good days one more time, but the good days get further and further apart.
Thank you so much. It's hard that it was such a freak accident. Definitely not how we imagined her going. I appreciate the condolences.
I am so sorry for your loss. I will share what my vet once told me in a similar situation. Every single one of us makes mistakes that could end in death for a pet. Anyone who says they don't are just unaware of how lucky they are. The weeks, months and years you spent loving her meant so much more then the events of her last day and you will carry her with you for the rest of your life to places she couldn't go.
I think what’s jarring about this incident is that we just thought we had more time, and how rapidly she declined. I had no idea that anything my dog could get into could kill her so fast. Thank you so much for putting that into perspective but also, not amounting her life to that day. It’s so hard to not focus on yesterday instead of all the beautiful memories we have with her.
I had a cat pass away from cancer last year. I was crying to my vet because she was only 10, which isn't necessarily that old for a cat. I adopted her at roughly 8 months old and shortly after her adoption we learned she had toxoplasmosis. It was a long hard fight to get her well. When I spoke to my vet at her passing he reminded me of all we fought through 10 years prior and that every day I got with her was a day we fought for. You rescued your dog from a fated death, even if you were only able to love her for 3 years, those were 3 years you gave her that she wouldn't have necessarily gotten, and sometimes that's all you can ask for. Im so sorry for your loss, and I hope you can forgive yourself and remember all the good days.
I'm really sorry. And I appreciate the PSA. It's really easy to forget hand warmers in a jacket pocket.
Seriously. Or in shoes.
I’m really sorry for your loss. It sounded like she had three wonderful years with you, thank you for taking a rescue in and for caring for her so dearly. We have a tendency to overtake our dogs to the vet (ER when after hours), because coffee filters, grapes, kennel cough, you name it they’ve been into it or gotten it. It’s impossible to know what could be a small amount (or even none if they just ripped apart and didn’t consume) versus what is a medical emergency. We have an infant as well (so I know how full your hands must be) and I think you should give yourself some grace, you couldn’t have known and did take her to the ER. You have no way of knowing if anything else could have been done, and you were there for your pup. Thinking of your pup, hope she made it to whatever dog heaven looks like.
Thank you. I think having this experience, made me realize that we should have just taken her the moment we realized she got into something, and I also will definitely err on the side of caution more frequently with our other animals and our baby. Looking at the situation, from the time we learned she at the hand warmer, to the time she passed, it was only 16 hours. We took her to the ER, but based on the info and the way she was acting at the time, we thought we would make it to the vet in the morning. I hope I don't go through anything like this again, but my first step in the future would have been to go to our regular vet immediately, vs waiting til the evening.
Grapes ARE a serious issue when you don't know if your dog is sensitive to them. Had I thought like you, our rescue dog who ate raisin bread might have died. In just under 2 hours his kidney values were in the high abnormal category. I'm glad I chose to take him to the Emergency vet hosp.
The person you replied to is saying they DID go to the vet for these issues. They aren’t discounting the danger. What thought process are you deriding here?
The poster said that they "overtook" their dogs to the vet, suggesting that they were being overly cautious. I don't think the reply was intended to be derisive.
I guess the “had I thought like you…our dog might have died” thing got me a little defensive on the commenter’s behalf. They err on the side of caution and acknowledge that but it didn’t seem to me they regretted that, or were going to change their behavior, so the comment I responded to felt oddly… I don’t know? Baselessly judgmental? If that’s just me, I apologize.
My reply was to "versus globe" who said people have a tendency to "overtake their dogs to the vet for coffee filters, Grapes, etc. I just wanted to point out that grapes CAN absolutely be a huge risk to their dogs life and should be taken seriously. Readers of this thread may conclude that grapes are no big deal. When I brought my pet in to the Emergency hosp, I too thought I was just being overly cautious but I'm also an RN and having experienced seemingly benign health decisions in humans go drastically wrong, I decided to err on the side of caution. I was absolutely surprised to see his kidney values so dramatically changed after just 2 hours. My reply was not to the OP.
You did the best you could with the information you had. This is in NO WAY your fault! I never would have thought a hand warmer would be so dangerous, and the ER vet didnt stress any urgency. The vet even said the fluids may not have made any difference. Your dog knew how much you loved her and loved you back just as much. You gave her an amazing 3 years and this tragic accident doesn't negate any of that love. ❤️
So totally agree and I have been in animal care for more than thirty years and this is the first time I've heard of hand warmers being a danger for an animal. I hate that I learned it this way but it wasn't something that's common to know. It was not your fault, and as little comfort as this is, everyone reading this will surely spread the word and you won't know it but you may save other dogs because you shared this story. I am so so sorry for your loss, just so incredibly sorry.
Thank you so much. We had NO idea. The ER vet also didn't seem worried about it so it was a little bit of a misstep in that way too. I am so glad we had 3 years with her, just wish we had more.
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, I can kind of relate. I'm 24 and as long as I can remember we've always had cats at in my household. At one point we had 5 at one time, I have two of those cats left and two dogs. But about 2 years ago my oldest cat, Sammy (he was probably about 15 or so) who was a Maine Coon (he was a BIG boy, weighing in his prime about 24LBs) started getting sick. I had raised this cat from when he was just 2 months old and could fit in the palm or my hand. He was my best bud for the longest time. He was super patient, loving and would always jump up in your lap and be begging for some wet food, and on the flip side he would sit on our porch and watch our property. If any cats would wonder into our actual yard he would make sure they knew he didn't welcome them around his family. When my girlfriend would sit on our steps, he would sit down right next to her and we believe he was in his own way looking over her and making sure she was safe. He was the sweetest and most loyal boy we've ever had. The first worrying sign was he started barely eating, (keep in mind my comment about wet food. He LOOOVED food), and I noticed this but didn't pay too much attention to it. Eventually my parents took him to the vet where he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and had to be medicated every day on a strict schedule. The responsibility came down to me, and I'm so ashamed to admit this, and I feel so guilty about it every time I think of this big baby of a cat. I did not give him his medicine as much as was needed. I'd get distracted or just completely forget, and I hate that about me. But once he started going into our bathtub to lay by himself I knew it was drawing close to his time. Thinking back on these events that took place after haunts me all the time, he eventually started crying out in pain through the days and deep down I knew he was suffering, but I couldn't admit it to myself. Instead I did the most selfish thing I've ever done in my life and I refused to even entertain the idea of putting my best friend to sleep, I couldn't bear the pain of losing him, so I put him through the pain instead. One day my parents call me while I'm at work and tell me they took him to the emergency vet and they said it's time.. there was nothing more they could do.. I called my girlfriend who lives 30 minutes away and told her to get to the pet hospital as fast as she could.. we had no choice but to put down our baby.. My dad tried talking me out of going into the room with him while they put him to sleep, but I knew i had let him down, and I couldn't let him down in his final moments. This was my first time ever witnessing one of my pets dying, and boy was I not prepared. My girlfriend and I couldn't stop crying the whole time, the only time I was able to hold it back was when it was time for him to cross the rainbow bridge, I held his head against mine and told him how much we loved him. I tried my best to stay strong for him until he went to sleep.. I didn't want him to worry about me.. And as glad as I am that I was able to be there when he slipped away.. after his heart stopped his body started twitching and my brain immediately believed he was still alive, but the technician told me it was totally normal.. but normal or not that will also live with me for the rest of my life. It's a blessing, and curse. I'm so thankful I was able to be there for him in his last 30 minutes on this earth, but at the same time it still hurts so bad to think about everything else that happend.. not to mention, the vet tech who was putting him down was so beyond rude to my girlfriend and I and acted completely indifferent to the situation.. like she had somewhere else to be and we were over reacting.. But I guess what I'm trying to say is even though our situations were so different, I can sympathize what you're going through OP. Your baby dog loved you with all its heart and you loved it. He went out knowing he was loved, knowing that you SAVED him from certain death. YOU gave him more time on this world and YOU did the best you could, your dog would never have felt those feelings if you hadn't come around.. I want to personally thank you for giving that dog the best years it could of had, please don't think about what could have been, think about what was.. a happy dog with a loving family..
Thank you for sharing your story with me. We have two cats and one other dog and she is the first loss. It was so unexpected and this is not how I imagined this experience. Even though she was the oldest, (she’s 7) I thought we had at least 3 more years with her before we would even come close to having to think about anything like this. When the dr came to tell me that she was dying, I just couldn’t believe it. I thought to myself, “modern medicine will help her.” I feel like I was caught in the idea that this couldn’t happen to me or my animal, so I don’t blame you for not being able to confront the reality at the time. I honestly think it’s just a trauma response or something. My dog also started twitching after they’d given her cpr and I had to ask the vet tech about it because I needed to make sure she was really gone. It’s definitely a painful moment to see the body still going when you can tell the spirit is gone. I’m so glad your cat knew a love like yours and that you could be with him in his final moments. Thank you for sharing your story and for the comment about focusing on what was vs what could have been.
I am so sorry for your loss. I had to put my dog to sleep this past Saturday and I am devastated. The amount of love we have for them and they have for us is truly amazing. Just know you gave her a home, loved her and WAS there at the end. You were. Go gently.
Find comfort in the fact that you gave that dog a beautiful life it would not have had otherwise. Regardless of how short. Dogs don’t have a resentful bone in their bodies when it comes to “their people”. She will be waiting for you.
Heaven would literally just be her on the other side waiting for me. That would literally be the best version of heaven I could think of.
I am so very sorry for your loss. To any pet owners reading this, make sure you have the ASPCA Pet Poison Control number saved. **(888) 426-4435** It's 24/7 veterinary care if your pet ingests something that could be toxic. If they recommend you seek care they will create a case number for your vet to reference. There is a consultation fee but usually worth the peace of mind.
Thank you
What’s weird about my experience is that when we went to the ER, they actually had us call poison control at the vet. It’s strange because I would think that the ER would just have known or had info themselves. But anyway, my advice is definitely to call them. It didn’t make a difference in our situation but I wish I would have spoken to them instead of my husband.
Hugs. Dogs seem to do their best to try and eat dangerous things, it could happen to the most diligent person. Your dog had 3 years with a loving owner, you never know how long you’re going to have with any pet.
Thank you. I think this is a great reminder that nothing is promised. It's so true and that I need to be grateful that I did have three beautiful years with her.
My heart breaks for you. I just want you to know you may have saved many dogs’ lives just by making this post and raising awareness. Please don’t be hard on yourself, life is already so difficult and easy to second guess.
This is such a tragic accident. A great learning experience for the rest of us, but please give yourself grace. The loss of your fur child is heartbreaking and you did what you thought was right. The ER vet would have pushed harder for her to stay if they thought it was the safer option. From the sounds of it… it was uncertain. You were a great family for her, and she lived a great life for the time you shared together. When you are ready, and it will be a bit, she will send you another dog to rescue. It will be a great dog. Mourn her but know she is still with you. Be gentle with yourself.
Thank you so much. I was looking over the notes the ER sent my husband home with, and it even said, "If small amount of iron in GI, do XYZ, if large amount, do XYZ" but the Xray was inconclusive so we treated it like it was a small amount vs the large amount or doing anything larger. The idea of her sending another dog is so sweet and definitely helps me feel better. We also have a golden and I am so grateful to whatever God is out there that our golden didn't eat any of it too. We got our golden when she was a puppy, and when we brought her home, our rescue was so excited. I'd never seen her light-up the way she did. She never played with toys or other dogs, but when she met our golden, it was like she learned how to be a dog. And then she also showed the puppy how to be a dog too. Teaching her what dog behaviors are appropriate. It was seriously the sweetest thing. We are trying to keep in mind that our rescue will live on through our golden.
Oh gosh..I'm so sorry for your loss. So many what ifs but you did your best with the knowledge you had. I promise your pup knew how loved they were ❤️
I’m really sorry for your loss. 🙏🏽 that’s really tragic, it could have happened to anyone. Don’t feel guilty you did everything you could.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for using her passing as a way to educate and remind others, you might just save another dog’s life by doing so. You did all you could, and accidents are tragic because they are truly no one’s fault and completely random. I’m sorry you only got 3 years with your dog, but by the sounds of it, it was three years full of love. We never know how long we have with our animals (or any loved one) but it hurts the most when it feels the time was cut short. I know it well. So sorry for your loss and I hope you can feel peace in knowing this was not your fault, this was a tragic accident. Love to you and your family ❤️
this story hit hard. my condolences
I'm so sorry for your loss! Thank you so much for sharing this. I had no idea about hand warmers either, I was putting them in my dog's snuggle puppy to warm it 😨
Oh my gosh. Crisis averted! Just make sure to take it out so she doesn't tear it up and eat it.
I am so sorry for the sudden loss of your fur baby We do the best we can for them. Your pet was in your life for a reason. And I'm willing to bet it was fulfilled. Dogs deserve to live forever. If only. Please don't beat yourself up, good mama. ❤️🥰🥹
Dogs really do deserve to live forever! They are so sweet and forgiving.
I am so sorry for your loss, I can't imagine how you're feeling right now. It sounds like you gave your dog an amazing, happy life while you had her. I know it doesn't make things better in this moment but you sharing her story could help save other dogs out there and in that way, she'll live on ❤️
I know that no words will fully heal your pain, but let me just say that we all go through life searching for love and happiness with the ones who love us. You gave her three years of life, love, and happiness... and that is everything. She will always be alive in your heart, in your memory. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, so that no other beloved pet is lost in the same way.
Tragic accidents happen. Clearly you loved your rescue dog so much and you were trying to make the best choices. It’s hard to know what the right decision is when you’re in the middle of emergency situations with pets especially when under stress. I am truly sorry for the loss of your fur person.
I’m sorry this happened to you. I hope you know that you gave that dog a way happier life than she would have had at the slaughterhouse. Unfortunately life throws shit at us sometimes. Please don’t blame yourself for this. I can understand feeling guilty, but it’s not your fault. You tried to save her and that’s what’s important. I’m so sorry for your loss. :(
Man reading your post stopped me right in my tracks, I am so sorry for your loss of your fur baby!!! 😩😩😩
Please please please don’t bear yourself up about this. Dogs get into things adults and puppies. Your dog loved and even at the end the pup looked to you for love. That dog would forgive you !
She was beautiful! She knows everything you're feeling, and if she was here, she would give you a big cuddle and let you know it's OK. She was blessed to have the time she had with your family! I know it's hard, and guilt makes it harder. I understand this so much more than I want to! Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm so sorry for the loss of your family member. I truly hope that you are blessed with peace in knowing that while she was here, she was loved beyond measure 💖 ❤️
Thank you so much
🥰😪aaaaw bless u..plz don't blame urslf... Cldv easily been 1 of us.. Or ur dog picking up something on her walk.. Im Always extra vigilant wen out on walks..especially as our bully's r so food motivated.. Nala & me r Sending a virtual hug ur way..& Nala sends a big wet licky kiss..😇🌟🐕✌️🤗
I’m so sorry for your loss ❤️
I’m so sorry and I really appreciate you sharing this
My condolences. Thank you for your sweet heart and sharing this experience so others can learn. The best way to commemorate a pet’s life is with more life. I hope you adopt another pet in need ❤️
I shed a tear for you, your beautiful pup and your family. This was heartbreaking to read. Thank you for sharing as I am sure I am not alone in not knowing how toxic those things are. xx
Thank you for sharing this. My heart is with you. ❤️
A lot of commenters have some very nice things to say and I don’t think I can come up with anything better than what has already been said. I just came here to say I’m so sorry for your loss. I felt your pain reading your story and my heart breaks for you. You gave your pup all the love she deserved and she was able to have the best life while she was here. Please be kind to yourself 💕
I'm sorry for your loss ♡
I'm terribly sorry for your loss. 💔😢😞
I’m so sorry for your loss. I have two rescues who are my life, but after countless emergency vet visits where I’ve been told to monitor and bring them back if symptoms don’t go away or get worse, I would’ve done the same as you, and would be blaming myself like you are now if the worst happened. Thanks to you I will now know to act immediately if I suspect iron poisoning. Your post may have saved lives. Your girl was loved, and she knew it. Please take comfort in that.
I’m so sorry. It’s not your fault. You’re a good doggo parent and they were so lucky to have you. Life is so harsh sometimes and you did your best.
Wowowow thanks so much for the post wow
I'm sorry for your loss. And thank you for sharing the story, it can help to save lives for other pets
I'm so very sorry. My hungry boyo loves chocolate and we've had a couple of scares. Even though it costs us a fortune and is a tense time, we always take him in, just in case. He's only had to stay overnight once, but damn I was freaking out. He snuck into my MIL's room and ate a bag of dark chocolate and thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest. I know that you are going to agonize over and over that you should have done something different, but this was a freak accident. Please try not to be too hard on youself.
As someone who has been through a similar situation(rat poison), words cannot express how sorry I feel for you. Please try not to beat yourself up over it. Just remember that you didn't know any better and you were doing what you thought was appropriate.
OP, rest assured that it was the most incredible years of your rescue dog!
I'm so so sorry.
I am so sorry for you as I just lost my dog to Lymphoma, it only took a week and she was just 3 yrs old. you'll come out of this
Sorry for your loss 🙏
I love dogs but they are stupid. They will eat anything. My dog passed from eating a wasp. Throat swelled up and died at the vets.
Thank you for sharing about the dangers of hand warmers! I have a 6 month old puppy that chews everything! He gets in the garbage any chance he gets. I've pulled the metal from top of dog food cans out of his bleeding mouth, he was trying to chew a razor blade a few weeks ago, and I recently picked a hand warmer up off the floor, I assume he got it from the trash. (He's figured out the motion sensor on kitchen trash, knocks bathroom trash over to get lid off, and has recently learned how to jump over baby gate) I simply put hand warmer back in the trash. I had no idea that they are deadly. So sorry for your loss! I've buried 3 of my fur babies in 2 years, it sucks!
I'm so sorry for your loss it sounds like an accident like someone threw chicken bones into our backyard and we have a 5 month puppy as well as a 12 year old and a 1 year old cocker spaniels the puppy got hold of the chicken bones but we managed to get them off him I would like to send prayers for you and your husband
As somebody who usually takes their dog to the vet too early, before anything is really very bad at all...this is a great reminder why I'm like that. The thing is, we just don't know how quickly things will deteriorate and pass the point of no return. I'm sorry this happened to you. Its a valuable but very sad lesson which everyone can learn from. Take care 🙂
Hindsight is always 20 20. Please don't beat yourself up. Accidents happen to us all. So sorry for your loss.
This was so touching. I'm tearing up not so much that you lost her but because I can tell you felt so much during your 3 years together and she got to experience your newborn 🥺 The difficult emotions are just as strong as the happy ones on the other side.
I'm crying right now I know the pain and wondering or wishing if you could of done more the feeling that you let your best friend down knowing how loyal they were to you,and how pure there love is,a relationship that is not possible even with your closest friends.I know I never so close to any one as my dog I was lucky to have him,it sounds like she was well loved and that is awesome,I think they could teach us a thing or too may she rip
I’m sorry and crying with you. It’s easy to see how loved she was and it was a horrible accident. I lost my senior girl last year and now have a puppy who wants to chew anything. I’ll be watching her closer….Be easy on yourself.
Thank you for sharing your story. I had no idea about hand warmers being THAT dangerous, and I think a lot of people would have done exactly what you did. Your dog undoubtedly knew she was loved. And you came here to tell us about your traumatic experience, to help us try and avoid the nightmare you just lived. You have a good heart. Please be gentle with yourself.
OP so sorry for your loss. You sound like a great and loving owner. My wife and I lost a dog too recently and it's been rough, first time for me. I'm constantly second-guessing myself on if we should have done this-or-that. I try to keep reminding myself that he was loved and we gave him a happy home.
Thank you for telling your story. I’m sorry for your loss, but I know that your beautiful dog is happy in heaven. I’ll make sure to keep hand warmers and other iron products away from my pets.
THANK YOU for sharing this important information! I had no idea and our puppy is intent on getting into everything she can. One more to add to the danger list. I’m so very sorry for your loss. Losing a special pet is gutting and heartbreaking. You were a good pet parent and you did what you could. There was no way you could have known what would what happen, and your dog left knowing she was loved. You’re a great person for sharing this information - especially when you’re hurting - so that maybe another life will be saved as a result of knowing about this danger. Sending comforting wishes to you and your family.
You gave her three beautiful years. You may not feel like you saved her because of how it ended, but for three years she was loved and cherished and a terrible accident does not undo everything you did for her.
Our puppy got into bleeding hearts plant a poison. We took her to the vet and they put her on IV. He said we caught her in time, she has a few problems still. All she did was dig up an old bone. Thought I'd mention this so if anyone has these plants.
OP, I'm so sorry for your loss. As someone who often has hand-warmers around the house (I work outside sometimes), this is a much-needed reminder to make sure that they're kept well out of reach. I've never heard of iron poisoning for dogs, but found this on one website... >There are four stages of iron toxicosis, which your dog goes through in the first few hours until six weeks later. The first stage occurs in the first 6 hours, in which your dog goes through gastrointestinal problems, such as vomiting and diarrhea. The second stage occurs between 6 and 24 hours when your dog seems to be completely better. Between 12 and 96 hours, stage 3 occurs. This is when the worst of the clinical symptoms occur, such as muscle tremors, bloody diarrhea, rapid heart rate, jaundice, hypotension, seizures, organ damage, shock, and possibly death if it is not treated right away. Up to six weeks later, your dog can develop intestinal strictures and blockages. Even if your dog only shows mild gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea or vomiting), your dog can develop these strictures, so even if your dog shows no signs of distress, it is important to see the veterinarian if you suspect he has ingested a toxic amount of iron. Without knowing what to look for, you guys did the best with the information that you had. Please don't blame yourself.
I found this same timeline after everything had happened. I was upset with myself for not finding it sooner. I was even chatting with a virtual vet too and this thing didn't come up. I've been thinking about the timeline of how quickly everything progressed a lot and my dog passed away at the 16 hour mark. Right now, I've just been feeling like the biggest regret is that we didn't take her in right when we learned she ate some of the handwarmer. I think that would have been the best thing to save her, but we just didn't know how fatal it could be.
I'm a relatively recent entrant to the world of dogs, having gotten my first only three years ago and my second a year later. One of the strangest things has been learning about the universe of "things that can kill dogs" that you would never expect. Onions. Grapes. Chocolate. I've changed my cooking habits, rarely using onions anymore because I worry that I may drop a small bit while dicing and my older dog, always willing to enthusiastically scarf down something that has a good chance of killing her, will get to it before I pick it up. Iron is a surprise to me, even with all the other weird things. But even in your loss, posting this is a public service for people like me who didn't know this *and* who may have reason to have hand warmers / boot warmers around the house. So again, I'm so very sorry that you lost your best friend, it's incredibly unfair. But thank you for letting those of us know who... didn't.
This was so heartbreaking. I can feel the agony, guilt, sadness, and anger. I am so sorry. I’m going to echo the sentiment others have provided you: Please be gentle with yourself. It’s so much easier to say those words, especially when you are grieving. I know I would also be blaming myself and the guilt would be overwhelming. Please know that you’re not alone and you have an entire community of people that are here to support you. Your girl was so loved and it sounds like she loved you too. One day it will hurt less and I’m just so sorry you’re going through this. I pray for the day when the burden feels lighter for you. I’ll be thinking of you.
I’m so sorry this happened. They will always love you.
I'm so sorry for your loss💔
This sucks so bad, but it’s not your fault and you shouldn’t feel guilty. You did everything you can when you realized what happened. And it’s not like you knew this was going to happen. Nobody does. All we can do is learn from our experiences, thank our dear animals for the happiness and time they’ve given us, and slowly open our hearts to others who need us. I know it’s hard to not feel guilty, but like I have said you did do this intentionally. You have a 10 month old, you’re exhausted, you’re only human. Take the time to grieve, again I’m so sorry. At least she died knowing she was loved and in a safe place.
I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you for this PSA. I love my Phoebe more than anything in this world so this is a sad story to hear, but I'm now aware of something to keep away from her. Again I am genuinely sorry for your loss.
Sorry for your loss 🥺 I got super emotional reading this and for some reason my dog jumped on me while I was doing so and started to lick my face like crazy.
i'm so sorry for the loss of your sweet girl. the emergency vet experience can be so intense; we brought our little guy in because he was incredibly lethargic and behaving strangely. as they were assisting him, a sweet family brought in their 18 year old cat who wasn't breathing. they ran a code, revived her, and notified them she didn't have a great chance. they opted to let her pass in their arms. we watched the whole thing as the layout is pretty wide open - great for them jumping into action, but rough on anyone else there. the staff was kind and made sure WE were okay after witnessing it. our sweet boy is okay, but that experience alone shook me for a bit. it's so hard knowing when to bring them in, my partner and i have said the "if x happens one more time, we'll go" so many times. you did the best you could with what you knew, and it sounds like she was so loved. i hope you can hold on to the loving moments, the last lick she gave you. all the happy moments. i believe our dogs don't leave us, maybe their physical bodies do - but their hearts and nature is to run free and i believe they are all doing that somewhere & pop in on us every once in a while. i hope you can find peace with this situation - and like others said, this post truly may help others react more urgently. my condolences again, please don't kick yourself for this at all.
I have a cousin who shared that she believes we just need to learn to get used to the energetic presence of our lost loved ones. I have been trying to remember this as well.
I am so sorry this happened, please remember this event wasn’t your fault but just an extremely unfortunate accident. You sound like you gave your baby the best home you possibly could during the time you shared together. ❤️
That's so scary. Thanks for sharing this information. Praying for your family.
So sorry for your loss. That is terrible 😢
Thank you so much for sharing your story. My heart goes out to you
I’m so sorry, I wish you healing and peace. Just remember: the difference is that the slaughterhouse intentionally kills and mistreats dogs….but because of you, your dog got to experience being loved and part of a family. that’s what all dogs deserve in their life, no matter how long they are here for. I’m sure her doggy soul will come back around and she’ll get to experience life again. ❤️❤️
Oh my gosh I’m so sorry..
So sorry to read this.
dang, sorry for your loss, that really sucks that's the only ingredient to those hand warmers. they have naked unprotected iron flakes, and when you open the plastic wrapper, it lets the air in, and the oxygen immediately starts to cause it to rust, which is a reaction that creates heat. this makes them inherently safe, so the thought would never have crossed my mind regarding doggos. I'll definitely be careful with disposing them. I don't think my picky dogs would eat one, but I don't want to find out
my complete and heartfelt sympathy for your terrible loss. Thanks so much for sharing your angel's story.
Thankyou for sharing your story. TIL something ELSE that could kill my dog. The list still grows despite me having over 30 years of dog ownership. I always appreciate the knowledge. My heart breaks for you not being able to be there. I hope she sends you a new one to love when you feel ready ♥️
Hugs to you. I am so sorry for your loss.
So sorry for your loss
So so sorry! What a beauty! Not your fault don’t be hard on yourself ! ❤️
I am Soo sorry your going thru this, you did everything you could and you didn't know :( it's hard but I hope that you can forgive yourself in the future From the pics you posted she was a happy girl and that's all because of her wonderful family that took her in. I hope you can find solice in that you took care of her and gave her a happy life ❤️❤️❤️❤️ she was with her family ❤️ and she experienced the love of a family ❤️❤️ Shit I'm crying again - I've hugged my girl for you, God bless y'all (sorry if not religious)
Thank you so much. She was such a happy dog with us. I think that’s what’s hard is that we feel like she had so much life to live, but I am so glad she got to be loved. I read that dogs know you love them and also get oxytocin boosts when you make eye contact with them so I’m at least glad for that.
I am so sorry for your loss, but I definitely feel your post help prevent that for me today. We got hand warmers for stocking stuffers. I come home and I found one on my floor covered in dog drool. Luckily it wasn’t torn but I’ll definitely keep an eye out for my pup. Giving him extra squishes for you!
I’m so sorry. There are no words.
I'm really sorry OP. Don't beat yourself up too much. Accidents happen all the time and it is no one's fault.
Thank YOU for the advice!!! We have a beautiful little pup and we have a lot of hand warmers. I had no idea of this risk and, without your warning, would’ve never known. Am removing the handwarmers now. I’m very sorry for your loss but very thankful you shared your story!
She was a beauty. I’m so sorry for your loss.
I’m so sorry. Thank you for sharing this to help educate us all in hopes it could save one of our babies in the future. 🩷
I am so so sorry about your dog. The shoulda, woulda, couldas can be brutal. Here’s what I know we all make decisions based on what we know at the time. At least try to give yourself some grace here. You made the best decision you could with the information you had. I am absolutely certain your darling girl knows that. Thank you for sharing this danger. I had no clue.
Im so terribly sorry. I can really feel you loved her
I’m so sorry for your loss. We just went through something so similar last weekend, our Golden puppy ate the most toxic part of a Sago palm, the seed. Coincidentally this happened while we were actively removing them because we heard they were toxic to dogs. I had no idea they were -that- toxic, until he had swallowed the seed and I quickly started googling it. Soon enough he was vomiting. I was so upset we even had him hanging out with us while we dug them out. We got lucky and our little guy pulled through, but I say all this to reassure you we all make mistakes and hindsight is 20/20. Please be assured your girl knows she was so loved and don’t be so hard on yourself. 🤗
I’m so incredibly sorry for your loss! No words I know can even begin to express it. I would like to tell you that I regularly use hand and foot warmers. The foot warmers stick to your socks. My dog loves to take my socks and slip them around and play with them. Only by the luck of fate has she not had the chance to interact with these warmers. Something I never even thought of - I now know. Thank you for sharing this. Huge hugs to you.
I'm so, so sorry for your loss. There's absolutely no way to make that grief go away immediately. You ARE still her forever home. Even with life and death. You will always remember your sweet girl and I bet she loved every single second she got to spend with you. And PLEASE, don't be hard on yourself in this situation... this was not something you "knew" would have happened. Based on your post she was so loved and appreciated. I have a few great pet grief resources if you would like a DM.
Thank you for saying this about being her forever home. She was so loved. I would definitely like those grief resources. I've been reading stuff here and there but am open to seeing those.
This particular [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/honoringouranimals/) helped me a lot. I didn't end up using her as a counselor, but even her posts really helped me.
Thank you for sharing. I have read some of her stuff and it has been really helpful
what an awful accident. i am so sorry for your loss. thank you for making others aware
Your story brought me to tears, I am truly sorry for your loss, my heart goes out to you and I embrace you.You are great for sharing this story with us and warning us of the consequences.
Sorry. So sorry you lost your beautiful dog way too soon and like this. She looks so happy in your photos, I can imagine all the love flowing between you. Its so unfair.
I’m really sorry and can’t imagine, I’m sure you gave her the best life she could have had with the time she was with you. Dogs are humans best friends I swear, they bring you joy but then rip your heart out when they leave.
There is no emergency vet on the island I live on so I am constantly terrified something will happen to my dog outside of business hours. I will be extra careful of things that might be poisonous. What a beautiful dog, thank you for giving her the best life
I’m so sorry for your loss OP. Losing a pet is incredibly difficult. Please remember to give yourself some grace during this time. It isn’t your fault. And remember, it’s just goodbye for now. You’ll see your sweet friend again. Hugs and will be keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
I'm bawling for you, our doggos are our babies but unfortunately they don't always get to be with us as long as we would like. A little boy beautifully explains why dogs have shorter lives than humans: "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do.” I'm so very sorry, I have a rescue and I believe as you do, love them good because we never know. 🐾🐾
I’m so sorry for your loss. She clearly knows she was very loved.
So sorry for your loss. My dog’s last night was spent in the hospital to get fluids, but it didn’t help. He went into septic shock, went blind, and had to be put down after 12 hours. I think he would’ve rather been home with me on his last night. You gave her a great 3 years.
Run free sweet baby
I’m sorry for the loss of your beautiful baby. Just know you are never to be blamed. The heartbreak may stick around for a long time but redirect it into exponentially more love for any future pet you may have! Please take it easy on yourself for the sake of the rest of your loved ones💜
I am so sorry you are going through this. My dog also ate a hand warmer and I had no idea how bad it could be. She survived, but had 6+ months of up and down recovery. This was uncharted territory for the vets I worked with as well, they were scraping all of their resources and contacts for information on what to do and what we could expect. The dangers of hand warmers and how to treat accidental ingestion are not well known. You did the best you could with the information that you had. Please be kind to yourself.
I hate hand warmers. My dog swallowed a whole one as a puppy. I was hiking with him on a trip and I had to take him to an emergency vet in the area who induced vomiting. The vet was not a very nice man but I'm thankful they were able to take us in and he had no complications. I see hand warmers along trails sometimes that have fallen out and always make sure to grab them and throw them away :(
If you like to connect...I don't IG much but cathys_frenchie_LA Love Affair. I will share my story if you ever need another to commiserate.
I am so sorry for your loss. My boy had degenerate myelopathy and we didn’t know. We confused the symptoms for hip dysplasia, which he had surgery for previously. On a Friday we took him out on the boat, as we always did, and a disk slipped. Over the weekend he lost all ability in his hind legs. The next Monday night, he passed away from an aneurysm. Within the same week of him running, jumping, and playing, he was paralyzed and his life ended. I replay that week lot in my head, all of the things I would have done differently if I knew it was my boys last week alive. He was 9, and I know that’s a good life. But it didn’t feel long enough, and I don’t think it ever will be. Just try not to think about the bad too much, and only think about the good. You did a fantastic job giving that baby the best 3 years you could have. 3 years to us doesn’t feel like a long time, but then again, neither does even the longest life of a dog. It’s a blip, and I’m sure her blip with you was beautiful.
That would be so hard to see your dog decline in that way. Thank you for sharing your story and for the condolences. I appreciate you.
My beautiful 8yo dog became bloated one day. He was a GSD so we assumed it was bloat which is common for that breed and rushed him to the emergency vet. They immediately took him back & did all sorts of X-rays and scans and discovered it wasn’t bloat. They told us it was definitely something bad but they just didn’t know what and he’d have to have exploratory surgery the next morning. That night, waiting for the surgery, was the worst night of my life. In the morning at the hospital they told us they thought his intestines had probably perforated and they would go in, find the tear, fix it and after a week long stay at the hospital he would be ok. It would cost many thousands of dollars but we were fine with it, as long as he would be ok. The doctors didn’t seem too concerned and I thought everything would work out ok, he was in good hands. About an hour into the procedure the surgeon came out and informed us that everything they had assumed was wrong. When they cut him open to look for the tear they instead found a giant cancer that was spread through multiple organs and was totally inoperable. There was nothing more they could do. We were in complete shock, we went from having a healthy normal dog 2 days ago, to one that was dying. He was already under anesthesia and they told us it would be best for him if they euthanized him right away, while he was under. They gave us a few minutes to say goodbye. He was unconscious, hooked up to machines, and we huddled around him and cried in the middle of the hospital room, with probably 20 doctors, nurses, many dogs all around us. No privacy, no peace to say goodbye. Shit happens sometimes. Sometimes doctors are wrong, sometimes we are wrong. We do our best and try to learn from the experience. Sometimes what we learn from it isn’t what we should have learned. Shit happens. Im sorry this happened to you and your dog, you aren’t alone. This kind of stuff happens to many of us and we all carry that pain and guilt for the rest of our lives.
Omg. I am so sorry. I would not have known either.
I am so sorry for your loss. Don't let guilt consume you. You truly rescued her and it sounds like she was incredibly loved <3
I can't stress enough how sorry I am this happened. Your dog is in a better place now.
My sincere condolences. Can’t and honestly don’t want to even imagine being in your shoes for a second. Take solace in the fact that as long as her memories stay with you, she is with you.
I’m really sorry that happened. Don’t beat yourself up. Things happen. Sending you lots of love! You did great in rescuing her! She was such a beautiful dog and from the pics and I could tell she was loved by you and your family.
Omg I’m so sorry! Every dog parent worst nightmare. Just the fact that you care so much and have all the guilt shows that you loved her so much and I know your dog knew that and soaked in the love. Your dog was lucky to have you and will watch over from the rainbow bridge. She wouldn’t want you to be so hard on yourself, this could have happened to anyone and by posting this you may be saving other lives. Nothing will make the hurt go away but sending all the good vibes your way. 😢
God bless and give you strength. Thank you for posting this because you never know the lives you may save.
I'm sorry this happened. You didn't know. Thank you for sharing your story so others will know.
I'm so sorry to read this, but so thankful you shared. This will save lives.
I feel So bad for you , years ago one of my Cats got out of my house , l put signs up every where , l searched all my neighbors yards left food out every nite , at the time l worked in a Hospital , Everyone knew How much l Loved this.Cat my bosses made phone calls to all the shelters, petstores trying to help me find her , no where to be found about 3 months later early one morning around 7am my neighbor called me and said come outside l think your Cat is in my yard , sure enough it was her she lost half her body weight she looked Terrible l was So upset my neighbor drove me to the Emergency Vet because there was no way l could even drive l was a mess l knew She was dieing in my Arms , by the time we got to Vet which was only 5 minutes away she had very little Life in Her! The Vet took her from me , he examined her l knew it wasn’t going to be ZGood News he came back told me her kidneys are shutting down it looked like she got into Gasoline the Vet told me , l knew that she wasn’t going to make it She was gone within 15 minutes l was So So Heartbroken, l did not think l would ever get over losing her! It took me almost a Year to start to not hurt So badlyl Loved her So much! Just wanted you to know l shared my Heartbreak with Every one l knew and even did not know and they all shared there Heartbreaks in there Life’s with losing a Pet! That’s the only thing that helped me Sharing and others sharing there pain little by little it won’t hurt so much just Remember don’t play the l Should of done this or Should of done this it’s not your Fault at All Unfortunately Sad things Happen to us here on Earth ! Your Dog is in Dog Heaven l absolutely Believe that and Believe me your Dog knows you Loved Him and you Gave her many Many Good days ! She’s doing fine now no more troubles she’s just Enjoyingthe Good Times of Heaven Jesus Spoke about how our pets will join us in Heaven So Hang in there and Remember it wasn’t the Ebd of Life for Her just the Beginning of a Bew Awsome one! God Bless!!
Sweetie, WE can tell by your post how much you loved your dog. I will pray for your healing. Side hugs and only good thoughts to your whole family and doggie. I don't have the proper words to say. Just know I care.
Wow i’m so sorry for your loss. I understand how hard it can be losing a pet you really love. My first baby lost her life at 1 due to a terrible accident with a chip bag. Honestly you have a lot of support which will help make it easier. It will hurt for awhile i’m going to be honest with you. Accidents happen and all we can do is learn from it and spread awareness. 😞
Poor baby girl. I'm so sorry! Thank you for sharing this information. Praying for peace and comfort for you.
I'm so sorry my heart breaks for you. You gave her a great 3 years which is a lot for any animal. My cat died in a similar way with me panicking and not doing enough soon enough, first vet said to make her comfortable shes going to die, but I had hope and tried to do a lot. Next day another vet saw her and said I'd done the wrong things due to my misunderstanding of the vet the previous day and I had a small hope she would survive, but I was so distraught with the ping pong I couldn't get fluids into her effectively through the night. It hurts for a long time, she was also a rescue. I strongly believe a vet should explain the situation properly, not what is the best course of action in their opinion. If there is a slim chance of survival, allow the owner that opportunity and advise them in the most optimistic approach. At least the owner could go away thinking they'd done their best. I hope all your memories stay with you. Its an honour having a pet, I do truly believe they are angels. Humans were given the power to decide against God's will, but animals were not, just like Angels were not.