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Staffie Bruno became ill after devouring a bowl of spent hops knocked over by his owner
A loveable rescue dog called Bruno was rushed to Vets Now – after he got drunk on homebrew beer.
Greedy Bruno, a Staffie, devoured hops from the homebrew thinking they were a tasty treat, blissfully unaware that hops can be poisonous.
Within an hour, Bruno began panting uncontrollably and overheating, much to the concern of his owners.
They took him to our pet emergency clinic in Harrow, north-west London, where staff put him on an intravenous drip and kept him in for observation overnight.
The Vets Now team were concerned the overheating could lead to hyperthermia, which in turn can lead to blood clotting.
But Bruno pulled through and a day later was bounding around the back garden at home in Buckinghamshire, as though nothing had happened.
Vet surgeon Azzurra Naso and vet nurse Nisha Cooper treated Bruno on the night he took ill.
Nisha said: “When Bruno came in his temperature was high and he was panting excessively. We cooled him down immediately before inducing vomiting to rid his body of the toxins.
“Our diagnostic tests showed a reduction in renal function although, thankfully, this improved following intravenous fluid therapy.
“We monitored him very closely and as the night wore on his condition improved rapidly. It’s great to hear he’s back to full fitness but his case shows just how dangerous hops can be to dogs.”
Bruno’s owners, Kerri, a business analyst, and her husband Frank, said they need eyes in the back of their head with Bruno because he will “literally eat anything” the minute their backs are turned.
Kerri explained: “Bruno’s got a cast iron stomach – there’s not much he hasn’t eaten over the years.
“We’ve had him eat a whole bulb of garlic, a whole pack of butter, banana skins. You name it, he’s eaten it and never with any problems.
“But the hops from the homebrew was totally different – he was really ill.
“Frank had a bowl of spent hops from the bottom of the ale he was brewing – which are called trub – and he accidentally spilt them.
“In the few seconds it took him to get a cloth and clear it up, Bruno had come bounding in and wolfed most of them down.
“You’d never have realised that something like that could be such a problem for a dog.
“And it was only a small amount of trub that was spilt – but less than a 100ml can be fatal for a dog, so it’s totally worth people knowing that.”
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Kerri added: “Bruno is 12 now and we’ve had him since he was four. He was a rescue dog whose previous owner couldn’t look after him anymore.
“He’s part of our family – and I can’t imagine life without him. I think he’s had a very lucky escape!”
Vets Now in Harrow – where Bruno received treatment – is one of 60 Vets Now clinics and pet emergency hospitals across the UK that are open through the night, seven-days-a-week, and day and night on weekends and bank holidays, to treat any pet emergencies that may occur.
All of Vets Now’s premises have a vet and vet nurse on site at all times.