Dogs are more 10,000 times more likely to die in surgery or be poisoned by radiation than by "Killer Grapes" and raisins so why are vets complicit in the myth?  It was easy to confirm dog food deaths but scary stories about deadly grapes defy credibility while sending hundreds? thousands? of dogs to emergency clinics and vet offices every year. 

Killer GRAPES & RAISINS II

Most raisin and grape toxicity reports refer to the “Urbana report” or the National Animal Poison Control Center (ref 1 direct link), which was originally a free service started by a veterinarian and his students at the University of Illinois – Urbana.

Barbara J. Andrews, Nel Liquorman © June 2009 TheDogPlace – In 1984 the name was formally changed. In 1990 Paul Harvey gave out the phone number on his radio show and for the first time, a small per-call fee was instituted.

In 1996 the ASPCA acquired the call center. There is now a $60 per call charge, payable by credit card. ASPCA is a New York City charitable organization, not connected with your local “SPCA”. The ASPCA relies on donations but unlike HSUS which does not have or support a single shelter, the ASPCA maintains a highly rated shelter facility in New York City.

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) has an aggressively marketed database. If a dog is presented with symptoms that a vet recalls match those associated with “killer grapes” (a term used by APCC), the vet will ask if the dog could have eaten grapes. A distraught, confused owner may well answer “yes, he could have” and thus, the diagnosis is recorded as another grape-raisin poisoning. Some vets will pursue diagnostic testing but most dogs will be hospitalized and treated for “grape and raisin poisoning.” Whether the dog survives or not, it becomes another incorrect statistic with which to mislead other vets and dog owners.

While our researchers found numerous reports of renal failure in dogs thought to have eaten raisins or grapes, not one single report confirmed that grapes caused the toxic reaction. (ref 2) All either cited the APCC database as the basis for diagnosis or as in this report from the CABI Abstract, stated that the pathogenesis (origin) and nephrotoxicity (poisonous effect) was unknown, i.e. “This is the first report of clinical signs, treatment, and clinical outcome in dogs that developed renal failure after ingestion of raisins or grapes. The pathogenesis of nephrotoxicity associated with raisins and grapes remains unknown. Outcome was favorable in 2 out of the 4 cases of acute renal failure associated with raisin or grape ingestion in these dogs.”

Some reports from otherwise credible sources were downright silly in citing the APCC information, to wit, this from the Companion Animal Newsletter, OK State veterinary newsletter, “According to the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center, the amount of grapes or raisins consumed that can cause toxicity varies from a pound of grapes to just a single serving of raisins and canine cases of grape/raisin toxicity have been reported all over the United States.”

Confusing mumbo-jumbo for which a professional writer would be ridiculed. A pound of grapes would give a 200 pound human diarrhea for a week! APCC says a single grape can cause renal failure so is that what’s meant by a “single serving”? How many cases have been confirmed as grape toxicity? The statement implies widespread raisin/grape toxicity but that is patently untrue. How many cases have actually been attributed to dogs known to have ingested grapes? Not even the APCC database provides the answer to that question. At least not until APCC reads this report… Have other species been poisoned as implied by “canine cases”?

“Killer grapes” is a classic example of “give a fool a fable and it becomes a fact” by virtue of repetition. It might be funny were it not making fools of health care professionals and causing dog owners to withhold a natural, healthy treat loved by most dogs.

Test your gullibility IQ with a quick example of Veterinary Overstatement excerpted from Vermont Veterinary Medical Association, (ref 3) editorial emphasis added.

Q: I recently heard that I should not give my dog grapes or raisins, as this could be fatal. Is this true?

A: Yes, it is. According to the National Animal Poison Control Center, pets may be very sensitive to an unknown chemical in grapes, raisins, or juice/wine made from grapes. The toxic dose of grape products can be as low as 0.1 mg/kg (or 0.046mg/lb), which means less than one grape or raisin may be poisonous to a 10 pound dog. Older or sick animals are the most susceptible. Symptoms usually start with vomiting, diarrhea and/or depression. In the animal hospital, several blood tests values will be affected, especially kidney function tests. Without intensive supportive therapy, death from kidney failure usually occurs within one to four days.

Wide-spread reports (including Snopes (ref 4) all seem to originate or refer to the APCC. In our non-veterinarian opinion, dogs being sickened by raisins and grapes do bring more panic-stricken owners into veterinary practices but they also bring into question several issues, the most important of which are;
 

1.) The number and frequency of such reports and the basis for diagnosis of grape poisoning as opposed to known chemical toxins used to treat the grapes.

2.) APCC states “the minimum toxic dose of grapes in dogs is approximately 0.3 oz/kg body weight… 2 grapes/kg body weight.” Does that mean a 20 pound dog would have to eat a minimum of 40 grapes to be affected? It implies a Mastiff-size dog could ingest more grapes (300) than a human of comparable size! Since my dogs lose interest after 5 to 10 grapes, we challenge APCC’s assertion regarding dosage as nothing more than uninformed guesswork by the same staff that embarrassed John Stossel and his (ii) 20/20 Report

3.) If the number and frequency of renal failures put forth by APCC is accurate, why hasn’t a veterinary research center done a simple, inexpensive, short-term clinical trial? Is it because there is no marketable vaccine, medication, or antidote for “grape” poisoning or is it because there is simply no evidence with which to indict the grape and thereby motivate such a trial?

4.) And lastly, does this whole scenario set up a situation for intense hospitalization, extensive testing, and expensive treatment based on a diagnosis which no grateful dog owner will question as misdiagnosis?
 

I am not a veterinarian, nor in any way associated with any research facility but I have, for 51 years, unknowingly conducted a real-life clinical trial with real dogs, none of which have ever suffered any adverse effects from eating grapes. To be accurate, I must confess I’ve fed unwashed grapes to my dogs. I must also state that the dogs subjected to this risky practice (?) have varied in size from 2 pound toy breed puppies to well over 100 pound adult Rottweilers and Akitas. Depending on their size, my dogs lose interest after 3 to 7 grapes.
 

This leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the dogs taken to veterinary clinics were owned by heartless people who starved them so badly that the dogs overdosed on grapes!

Wild grapes are part of a natural diet for foxes, wolves, coyotes, and bears. Sprayed, commercially raised grapes are stolen by various carnivoria and birds. I do not however equate grapes with raisins which are preserved with sulphur dioxide and other chemicals.

In two separate cases of which I am personally aware, show dogs were deliberately poisoned but were immediately rushed to veterinary teaching hospitals (Purdue in the one case). Although there was a suspect, criminal prosecution was impossible because the poison could not be recovered from the dog’s tissues or stomach. If grapes were found in a dog’s stomach that died from “poison” it is statistically more likely that the dog was deliberately poisoned or licked anti-freeze and had only incidentally ingested grapes. (ii) Anti-freeze Poisoning (instant info)

This is in no way meant to detract from conscientious, caring vets who accepted what they assume is scientific evidence. It is not meant to demean the good work done by the ASPCA. We just wonder if anyone at APCC has ever owned a dog much less given it a grape!

This first report went out to over 9,000 subscribers and within 30 days was read by more than 20,000 interested dog owners. As of this writing, we have received one report of death by grapes, over two hundred emails of grapes routinely given as treats, and nearly one hundred reports of veterinary negligence and/or malpractice unrelated to grapes.

We will tabulate and provide owner reports in a follow-up article next month. As our coverage is quoted, reprinted, or linked to in countless dog related and mainstream media news sites, more people will become aware of and report their own experiences with raisins or grapes.

Please, if you have a confirmed report of grape toxicity or can ad to this discussion, email the editor.

Click Here for Part 1: Dogs Poisoned By Grapes and Raisins?

Dog Poisoned by Grapes? I think Not! by Teresa Cooper