Dog Ends Up in ER for Thanksgiving After Eating Common Holiday Ingredients

Snoopy the dog is here with a warning for canines who love to steal nibbles from the kitchen — watch what you eat.

The dog and his family are sharing their story about a toxic food encounter to save pet parents and their animals from stress this holiday season. According to the family and Pet Poison Hotline, Snoopy spent the Thanksgiving season recovering from an emergency after indulging in a few ingredients frequently used in holiday cooking.

Right before Thanksgiving 2024, Kiana Sutherlin, Snoopy’s owner, was frying up some chicken in her kitchen, taking extra precautions to keep the food away from her naughty but loveable pup.

“Snoopy is a notorious counter surfer,” Sutherlin said in a statement. “We’ve tried to train him, but it’s his way or no way. I was cooking some fried chicken wings, and I added several ounces of both onion and garlic powder. I also used a full bottle of cooking oil, and what was left of a second bottle. After I was done cooking, I placed the pan full of used oil at the back of the stovetop and covered it so Snoopy couldn’t get to it.”

Sutherlin was cautious about where she let the oil cool down because she knew both garlic and onion can be toxic to dogs.

Unfortunately, even with Sutherlin’s extra steps to protect the used oil from ending up in Snoopy’s stomach, the dog still managed to find a way to eat it. While Snoopy’s family was distracted with a phone call, the dog used the opportunity to get on the counter near the stove and lick up almost all the oil.

Shortly after gulping down the oil, which was seasoned with both onion and garlic powder, Snoopy began vomiting up everything he had consumed.

“I stayed with him the next day, and he was whining and crying while continuing to vomit. I called the emergency veterinarian, and they recommended I call Pet Poison Helpline.” Sutherlin said.

She called Pet Poison Helpline and provided their experts with a list of everything Snoopy had eaten recently, including the oil and its seasonings.

“Onions and garlic can be deadly to pets if ingested in a large enough quantity, with garlic being five times as potent,” Dr. Renee Schmid, a senior veterinary toxicologist and director of Veterinary Medicine at Pet Poison Helpline, shared about what experts had to consider in Snoopy’s case. “Snoopy consumed used cooking oil that contained large amounts of onion and garlic powder, which is even more concentrated and therefore more dangerous.”

After learning about Snoopy’s situation, Pet Poison Helpline recommended that Sutherlin take the dog to an emergency veterinary hospital, BluePearl Pet Hospital in Arden Hills, Minn., in this case.

“Because we had called Pet Poison Helpline in advance, they were able to develop a recommended treatment plan that was ready by the time we got to the hospital,” Sutherlin said.

Snoopy’s veterinary team administered an antiemetic to stop the vomiting, provided fluid therapy to rehydrate him, and administered gastrointestinal protectants to minimize diarrhea and gastrointestinal irritation.

The dog spent Thanksgiving and the weekend afterward recovering from his binge on cooking oil and undergoing bloodwork every few days to ensure the onion and garlic powder hadn’t caused severe damage to the dog’s red blood cells.

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Snoopy eventually fully recovered from the ordeal and is back to his energetic, curious self. This Thanksgiving, his family hopes to prevent another trip to the animal ER by adjusting their kitchen habits.

“Snoopy is very sweet, but he’s a bull in a China shop,” Sutherlin said. “No matter what we do, it’s his way, so we had to change our habits. We make sure all garbage is secure, and we clean up right after we cook.”