Christmas may still be more than a month away but supermarket shelves are already brimming with festive goodies ready for the season of indulgence.
Aside from a juicy turkey on Christmas Day, the staple food of the festive season has to be mince pies.
Packed with mincemeat, fruit and spices, mince pies became a popular treat around Christmas time following a tradition from the middle ages, which saw people eat a mince pie for 12 days from December 2 to the Twelfth Night. It was believed that doing so would bring you happiness and good fortune for the coming year.
Nowadays indulging in mince pies isn’t limited to just 12 days, with shoppers being tempted to tuck in long before Christmas Day arrives thanks to well-stocked shop shelves.
But if you are buying mince pies for the festive season this year – or you already have done – households are being warned to be aware of who is actually eating them.
Anyone who has a pet dog at home is urged to make sure that mince pies are kept well out of reach from them as their filling – which comprises dried raisins, currants and sultanas – is toxic to dogs.
The tantric acid inside dried fruits can cause acute kidney failure in the worst cases, while their high sugar and fat content can also cause digestive problems, including vomiting and diarrhoea.
The warning comes after crossbreed Murdo recently stole mince pies and was admitted to an emergency pet hospital where he was given medicine to make him sick to clear his stomach of the pies and foil wrapper.
Emergency Vet Dave Leicester, head of telehealth at PawSquad, said: “[Owners] Sarah and Billy did absolutely the right thing in getting help straightaway because time is critical when a pet has eaten something poisonous, even when, as with Murdo, there’s nothing visibly wrong with them.
“Just a few raisins can have potentially very serious consequences for dogs – and eight separate mince pies really is a lot of raisins to consume, even for a bigger dog like Murdo.”
If your dog gets hold of a mince pie you should urgently contact your local vet and explain how much they’ve eaten and anything else they might’ve grabbed, such as the foil packaging.
VetsNow explains: “These Christmas fancies are bad for dogs for a number of reasons. Firstly, they’re jam-packed full of currants, raisins and sultanas, which are toxic to dogs.
“Secondly, they’re often full of fat and suet which can give them severe stomach troubles, but also, more worryingly, lead to pancreatitis. Finally, they’re usually laced with alcohol which is also poisonous to dogs.”
Digital PR Agency reports that dogs are 75% more likely to be treated by a vet for eating harmful food around the festive season compared to any other month of the year.
As such, dog owners are also urged to keep pooches away from other potentially harmful festive foods, including chocolate, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, and sage and onion stuffing, to avoid an emergency trip to the vets this Christmas.