Pancreatitis: A Holiday Warning

Beware! The holidays are coming and so are the wonderful, tasty foods that tempt us all. Foods especially high in fats such as baked hams, sausages, prime rib, and fat trimmings can cause severe stomach and pancreatic upset in your pets. The pancreas is responsible for helping with digestion and if given too high a fatty meal, it can begin to cause severe digestive problems such as vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, blood clotting problems, sepsis and even death.

One such survivor of this disease is a nine year old beagle mix named Trixie who spent more than a week in the hospital on intravenous fluids and antibiotics and required plasma transfusions to pull her through it. This all began after eating a large helping of ham fat several days prior to the onset of her symptoms. Trixie’s owner was determined, as were we that she would survive this malady, and today this wonderful dog is still at home with her family.