A local election candidate’s attempt to sweeten voters backfired after he accidentally fed a chocolate to a dog.
Frank McNamara is a Fine Gael candidate in the Killiney-Shankill electoral area of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Dublin.
He was delivering his election leaflets in the local area on Tuesday evening along with a chocolate, which can be toxic to dogs.
Unfortunately, local man Ron Davies’ dog, a female Bichon Frise, got to the sweet treat before her owner and devoured it.
The UCD professor told Dublin Live he rushed his beloved pet to the vet as a precaution.
He said: “I took the dog to the vet because chocolate is bad for dogs and I was able to bump into the guy to get another chocolate off him to show the vet exactly what she ate.”
Bichon Frises usually weigh between three and five kilograms.
While chocolate can be fatal, it would take around two or three full chocolate bars to kill a five kilo dog.
A small amount of chocolate could make a dog unwell, with symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, muscle tension and seizures.
Luckily, Ron’s dog didn’t have any of these symptoms.
He said: "If she was a small dog it might be an issue but she should be grand.
"She might vomit a little but she didn’t even do that. All she really wanted was another chocolate."
In an ironic twist, Ron realised that Mr McNamara is a former student of his.
“I told my wife that bit and she thought that was hilarious,” he said.
He added that he bears his former undergraduate no ill will.
He said: “He [Mr McNamara] actually rang me and he apologised and offered to pay for the vet bill.
“He said ‘It didn’t even occur to me’. He was very kind about it.”
The Irish Mirror has contacted Mr McNamara for comment.
