Chocolate

Dr.Carpino & her dog Katie Important Dates:		Animal & Bird Medical Center of Temple Dr. Mary Carpino "Where we treat your pet like our own" (254) 899-8800 Animal & Bird Medical Center will be Closing as of March 16, 2011 We have enjoyed taking care of your pets these past 13 years. However, the physical demands of the job are significant, and the time is right for me to take a position that is less physically challenging. I am a "big dog" person at heart, but when our many 130 lb patients seem to weigh 180 and our one 227 lb patient seems to weight 400 lbs, it is time to make an adjustment. I will be moving out of the area, but will continue to be accessible at katie@animalandbird.com. We will be taking care of records after March 10, 2011 and will let you know the details of that as the week progresses. Please be sure we have your email. If you are not sure we have it - please send it to katie@animalandbird.com Please be patient with us as we close the clinic.	NOTE: All equipment, fixtures and supplies must go. Equipment and fixtures are being auctioned online at www.shattuck.com Click on Online Auctions and then on Veterinary Hospital - Temple Check daily as we add more items. Inspection of items will be Fri & Sat 3/11-3/12 from 10 am to 12 noon The auction ends 3/14/11. Pickup of auction items will be 3/18 & 3/19 from 10am to 5pm
Last appointment date:	3/10/11
Last day to order prescription food:	3/9/11
Last day to order prescription medicine:	3/12/11
Last day to pick up pre-ordered food or medicine:	3/16/11
Large Reductions in all non-prescription items:	3/7-3/16/11
Big "Garage/Lobby/Yard Sale" - Yes - this is a Sunday 8am-5pm.	3/20/11

Chocolate

Think of chocolate for your pet as a major overdose of caffeine. It affects the heart, blood, nervous system, gastrointestinal system. Everything goes into overdrive and your pet's body can't handle it. The heart races, vomiting, and horrible diarrhea will result. Depending upon the amount of chocolate, it can very easily be life threatening. As soon as you know your pet got into any chocolate, you must bring your pet in to be checked.

Why is chocolate toxic to your pets and not us?

We are able to metabolize the toxic substances in chocolate. Your pet cannot.

How much is too much?

A one ounce chocolate bar contains enough theobromine to be toxic to a 10 lb dog. What if it is chocolate flavored brownies, or cream-filled candies? Those are hard to determine if your pet has gotten enough to be certain how much is safe or how much is too much - so the rule is to assume your dog ate too much. Besides the chocolate issue, candies may be too hard on your pet's digestive system and result in a severe gastroenteritis or pancreatitis.

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