Visit Canterbury Curry Club for more details.

27 March 2012

Dogs Trust launches its “Chocs Away” Awareness drive

A shocking new survey* from Dogs Trust has revealed that over 57% of pet dogs have eaten chocolate intended for humans and over 1 in 10 have become ill from it. Of these, 8% have died due to the effects and nearly a quarter have required urgent veterinary treatment.

To prevent the number of dogs that end up hopping to the vet with chocolate poisoning, Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, is today launching a new “Chocs Away!” awareness drive to highlight the tragic consequences of feeding your dog human chocolate this Easter.

Sadly many dog owners are simply unaware of the dangers. Over 39% of dogs who ate human chocolate were given the treat by their owners and 61% found it themselves after it was left in easy to find places in the home.

Dogs Trust Veterinary Director, Paula Boyden, comments:

“Apart from the risks of obesity and the obvious dangers of eating the foil wrapping, the biggest risk of eating human chocolate is poisoning, resulting in an emergency dash to the vet and sadly even death.

Chocolate contains theobromine, which, although tolerated by humans, is extremely toxic to man’s best friend. The darker the chocolate, the greater the amount of theobromine. Toxic doses vary according to the size of dog and cocoa solid content of the chocolate. As a rough guide, Dogs Trust estimates that 50g of plain chocolate could be enough to kill a small dog, such as a Yorkshire Terrier, while just 400g could be enough to kill an average size dog.”

So, if you are partial to Easter Eggs and want to keep your dog safe, follow these simple rules:

Keep your “Chocs Away” – this means hidden out of sight and unavailable to your dog

NEVER feed your dog chocolate intended for humans

If your egg is missing and you suspect the dog is the culprit, contact your vet straight away

Look out for any of the following symptoms; vomiting containing blood, a sore tummy, excessive thirst, excitability, drooling, rapid heart rate, and in severe cases, epileptic-type fits

If your dog is displaying any of these signs then take him immediately to your vet

There is no antidote for theobromine poisoning with treatment being symptomatic. Therefore the sooner treatment is implemented, the greater the chance of recovery

If you want to treat your dog this Easter stick to natural doggy snacks that are kinder to your canine

Notes to editors:

*fatal doses of theobromine quoted in the range 90 – 250mg per kg of body weight, from  “The Handbook of Poisoning in Cats and Dogs” by Alexander Campbell and Michael Chapman (Blackwell Science). For the average Yorkshire Terrier we have estimated a body weight of 2.5kg and for an average dog we have estimated a body weight of 25kg.

Cases of death by an Easter egg alone are relatively unlikely, most reported cases of death by theobromine are from dogs eating cocoa powder and cocoa mulch in the garden, so please be vigilant if your dog is also exposed to these products.

*Survey conducted in March 2012 with over 1,115 respondents.

Case Study

Dog owner Anne Esposito from Kettering in Northamptonshire has first hand experience of the consequences:

“A few years ago my beloved King Charles Spaniel Hugo helped himself to the contents of an entire chocolate fountain. We discovered him the next day in a terrible state and rushed him straight to the vets where we were told he had severe chocolate poisoning and there was a strong chance that he would not survive.

Fortunately, after a long stay at the vets Hugo gradually recovered but he has been left with a compromised digestive system. He suffers from ongoing health problems and nearly died recently from an illness due to the lasting damage caused by chocolate poisoning.”

Further case studies are available on request.

For more information please contact Dogs Trust Press Office on:

Jennifer Blaber: 020 7833 7657 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sarah Graham:  020 7833 7709 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dear Trust supporters,

We have some very good news! We haven't actually signed the lease for the Hall yet (although this will be happening soon), but we are delighted to announce that the Trust is now a registered charity! (registration number 1146677). Thank you very much to everyone who got us this far, and most specially to CADVAS (www.cadvas.org).

As we wait for the last bits of the legal documents to be ready for all three parties to sign (the council, Curzon cinemas and the Trust), and finalise our planning application for the refurbishment, we are having to pay more and more professional services bills (from drainage surveys to surveyors reports) and we need to raise many more funds. As you all know the funds from Curzon cinemas cover the essential urgent works (mostly the new roof and relocation of toilets), but the Hall needs a lot more TLC, after many years of underinvestment, and the better the condition of the building when it re-opens under Trust management, the better its chances of being a successful venue.

So please help. Join the Trust as members (Application form: westgate-community-trust-ltd-members-form-february-2012.pdf), donate if you can, and volunteer (everything helps, from taking up a regular role, to one offs).

Kind regards and a very happy Easter to you all,

Adelina Comas-Herrera
(on behalf of the Westgate Community Trust board).

westgate-community-trust-ltd-members-form-february-2012.pdf

It's sheer laziness to dump your rubbish out of a car window.

Whilst driving round Kent's rural lanes, or indeed anywhere, what you callously dump can end up inside an animal, causing pain, illness or death.

It doesn't take a lot of effort to bag it and bin it surely?

We're not saying everyone does it. We're pretty sure the vast majority don't. But we'd like to reach the few that do if we can.

Rant over.

Read http://www.hortonparkfarm.co.uk/2012/03/01/hidden-dangers/ for more.

The Wajiwa Global Street Food event on Wednesday 28th March, 10am, Westgate Towers, Canterbury went well and I can tell you now, that the food and drink on offer is excellent. This stall, situated next to Westgate Towers, is well worth a visit.

Try the Tamarind sauce on your food and the Dragoon bottled drink to go with it, both wonderful.

http://www.wajiwanice.com/ for more information.