2024 veterinary news in review: #4

The dvm360 editorial team is counting down our Top 20 news stories and articles of the year, from January 1, 2024, to November 15, 2024. Rank was determined by measurable audience interest and engagement.

A spotlight is shining on 1 article each day through New Year’s Eve, when the No. 1 dvm360 story of the year will be shared. The following article is No. 4 on this list:

Golden retriever ingesting diaper cream leads to another deadly discovery

written by Sydney Yankowicz

Originally published January 10, 2024

Photo courtesy of Pet Poison Helpline

Six-year-old golden retriever, Sawyer.

Retrievers are known to put almost anything in their mouth, and unfortunately have a high chance of swallowing something they shouldn’t. This was the case with 6-year-old Sawyer, a golden retriever from Fort Mill, South Carolina. Owner, Kim Manzo, discovered that Sawyer had gotten into her child’s diaper cream.

From a Pet Poison Helpline’s toxin tail story, Manzo explained, “Sawyer woke us up in the middle of the night on a Thursday vomiting white stuff, which we soon figured out was ointment from a tube of diaper cream containing zinc oxide. He hadn’t pierced the tube, but had squeezed out and consumed all the cream. He had never gotten into it before, but we figured he would throw it up and be fine. The next morning, Friday, he was still really sick, so we called the veterinarian. They suggested we call Pet Poison Helpline before bringing Sawyer to the clinic, so the toxicologists could develop a treatment plan.”¹

RELATED: 2024 veterinary news in review: #5

After evaluating Sawyer, both the local veterinary office and the team at Pet Poison Helpline believed that the ingestion should no longer be of concern and recommended monitoring Sawyer at home since most dogs feel better the following day. However, they advised to bring him back to the hospital if he did not improve throughout the day.

Unfortunately, on Sunday Sawyer was still not feeling well and was reported as lethargic, so Manzo took him to an emergency veterinary hospital which did an x-ray, but the veterinarian originally thought an image he saw was food in his stomach. The next day, the veterinarian called Manzo back and explained there might be an object lodged in Sawyer’s stomach. He recommended another visit to the hospital, so this time Manzo drove him about 30 minutes to the Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) in Charlotte, where they took more x-rays and did an ultrasound.¹

For more on this story, including the outcome of Sawyer's case, view the full article here: https://www.dvm360.com/view/golden-retriever-ingesting-diaper-cream-leads-to-another-deadly-discovery