Choco-jumpin-holic

UPDATE: Edited for spelling. Content unchanged.
This week there's a new back-to-the-top icon at the foot of each post, in honor of a small dog [scroll down in the link for a larger photo] who ate a batch of chocolate cookies and spent Christmas dinnertime at the emergency vet hospital getting her stomach pumped.

From the ASPCA Poison Control Website [link in sidebar, how ironic is that]:

Depending on the form involved, chocolate can contain high amounts of fat and caffeine-like substances known as methylxanthines. If ingested in significant amounts, chocolate can potentially produce clinical effects ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death in severe cases.

Typically, the darker the chocolate, the higher the potential for clinical problems from methylxanthine poisoning. White chocolate has the lowest methylxanthine content, while baking chocolate contains the highest. As little as 20 ounces of milk chocolate, or only two ounces of baking chocolate can cause serious problems in a 10-pound dog.

"Sometimes, even if poisoned, an animal may appear normal for several hours or for days after the incident," warns the "what to do if your pet is poisoned" page, so off to the vet's went Lil, wiggling with happiness at all the attention. [Thank you, good vets and vet techs everywhere, for staffing emergency hospitals on holidays.]

Pugs can jump! Who knew? She's back home now and resting comfortably after the overindulgence, as are we all.