Vodka Saves Dying Puppy Poisoned By Drinking Radiator Fluid

Truganina, Australia - A bottle of vodka saved a dying puppy poisoned by drinking anti-freeze radiator fluid. Cleo is an American Staffordshire dog that was brought to the vet for ethylene glycol poisoning, which can cause kidney failure. Instead of some fancy equipment, the vet had a novel solution for saving the puppy.

When owner Stacey Zammit rushed her Christmas puppy pet to the vet, the dog was only hours away from complete renal failure. According to News.com.au, the vet decided that alcohol was the only antidote and the owner relates what happened:

“The vet had a bottle of vodka, which was a gift, so they just hooked her up. The next time I saw her [the dog, not the vet] I asked if she was wasted and the vet was like, ‘yeah’. Cleo had really bloodshot eyes and she was pretty unsteady. She couldn’t move around much because she was so wasted.”

Animal Accident and Emergency Point Cook vet Dr Yenny Indrawirawan calls this the “hair of the dog” treatment, which cost the owner a stiffer-than-vodka $2100. The puppy feasted on Christmas vodka bottles for two days through a tube put into her snout. Cleo managed to go through a bottle and a half of vodka in less than 72 hours. Dr. Indrawirawan explained how vodka is the antidote for ethylene glycol poisoning:

“The alcohol stops a chemical reaction in the body. Without the vodka, Cleo was likely to develop renal failure.”

Veterinarian Scott Hall from Animal Accident and Emergency Point Cook told ninemsn that the owner’s quick reaction was key to their Christmas puppy’s survival:

“It was only a 3 kg dog, so it doesn’t take much of the anti-freeze for it to become poisoned. The owners were straight on top of the money. They realized straight away that things weren’t right and came straight to us.”

The puppy is now fully recovered, beating the vodka-induced hangover with much grace according to her owner:

“She slept a lot and she was eating a lot, but she seems really happy now.”