A concerned woman has pleaded with fellow dog owners to listen to her 'life-saving' advice after a toxic food left her beloved pooch fighting for its life.
Alex Travis - who boasts more than 150,000 followers on TikTok account @sc00byd1zzl3 - explained she was unaware of the toxicity of mould to dogs after pooch Zelda was fighting body tremors.
Sharing a clip online detailing the importance of keeping mouldy food away from your dog, her video has surpassed a whopping 1.9 million views to date.
She explained: "This post might save your dog's life so if you watch one video today please let it be this one. This applies to cats also but it's not as frequently seen in cats."
Alex went on: "I have had dogs since I was born. There has not been a time in my life where I did not have a dog and until yesterday evening I did not know that mould is lethally toxic to dogs.
"I threw away some mouldy cream cheese and thought 'no big deal' because the trash was going to go out in an hour."
By the time she had come back home, she noticed that her dog was shaking violently and decided to immediately act on the symptoms.
She explained: "I tried to induce vomiting which was unsuccessful and I thought maybe it was diarrhoea or severe GI upset because it can present this way.
"I was wrong. By the time we got back in the house, her pupils were dilated, she had full body tremors and she was unable to walk.
"No doubt about it - she was neurologic. We put her in the truck and called the vet on the way.
"As it turns out mould is severely toxic to dogs. There are three kinds in particular but as a general rule of thumb, treat all mould like the enemy - mouldy bread, mouldy cheese, mouldy cheese. In this case, it was a packet of mouldy cream cheese and it almost killed her.
"Thankfully after the vomiting didn't work I had the bright idea to administer a weight-appropriate dose of gabapentin while we were en route to the emergency vet.
"Thankfully I gave her that Gabapen [gabapentin] because it kept her from having a serious life-ending seizure. Not everyone has Gabapen so as a general rule of thumb if you find mouldy food in your fridge throw it away where your dog absolutely cannot get to it.
"If you think your dog is neurological take them to the vet immediately. The sooner that you can get them to a professional vet, the more likely you are to save their life."
Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant medication used to treat partial seizures and neuropathic pain.
According to vets-now.com: "Mouldy food, including bread, nuts, and dairy products, can contain tremorgenic mycotoxins that could make your dog very ill.
"Symptoms of mycotoxin poisoning include vomiting, fever, agitation, tremors, and seizures. These signs can last for days but usually resolve within 24 to 48 hours with aggressive veterinary treatment."
Since sharing the information video online, over 3,000 TikTok users fled to the comment section to share their gratitude with the dog owner.
One person admitted: "I had no idea mould was this deadly to dogs, thank you for sharing this! Hopefully, this information can save someone's dog someday!!"
Meanwhile, a second person wrote: "Grapes, mould and mushrooms!!!! Most know about chocolate but not grapes and fungi."
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