Do You Feed Squirrels? Watch Where You Put Those Raisins!

I recently came across a story that reminded me of the dangers of absentmindedly leaving certain foods on the ground. And it made me wonder how many people actually think before they toss things outside.

In this case, it seems this wasn't a situation of simple careless littering, but something that was done with one purpose, but perhaps without the full realization of all the consequences involved.

Essentially, in a nutshell (pardon the pun) what happened was a local lady who likes to feed the squirrels, left some food near the edge of her lawn.

She happens to live on a street that's on a popular route for folks who walk dogs. And the food she happened to leave out on this particular afternoon was raisins.

Those with dogs know that if eaten, raisins (and grapes for that matter) can result in extreme illness, if not death, in any canine.

According to the American Kennel Club, regardless of the breed, age, or sex of your dog, this is one food of which you'll want your pet to steer clear.

"No, dogs should never eat grapes. Grapes and raisins are known to be highly toxic to dogs, though research has yet to pinpoint exactly which substance in the fruit causes this reaction...Unfortunately, even consuming one grape or raisin can be fatal. Ingesting the fruit could potentially lead to acute (sudden) kidney failure in dogs."

Sadly, one eager pup, out for a weekend walk, stopped at the edge of this squirrel lovers yard and made a quick snack out of what had been left in the yard. Subsequently, that dog spent a scary 24 hours at the emergency vet clinic, as its owner watched and waited, helplessly until the danger had passed.

I'm going to assume that the person who left the squirrel snacks out, did not realize the issue her effort caused not only for this dog and its family, but any other dog who happened to come across this tasty but potentially deadly tread in her yard.

The good news; the pup made it through the weekend and was sent home to recuperate.

But it's certainly a cautionary tale that reminds us to take care, and perhaps consider carefully what we're leaving out and about where wildlife, but also pets could get ahold of it.

."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":33554688,"11":4,"28":1}">