My dog swallowed a penny

[Dirk]

My 30lb. pup swallowed a penny. It happened so fast. The penny fell out of my pocket and he gulped it up before I could grab it.

Will he probably pass the penny? I happened last night and he is acting normal at the moment.(12 hrs. later)

[Aussie Red]

It may but myself I would call my vet. I worry about kids swallowing coins because of the amount of lead in them. It could also get blocked into the intestines. I would at least call the vet for advice.

[Giny]

I believe pennies are made of zinc and copper, no lead. Though I could be wrong. Still, I'd keep an eye on your dogs stools checking to see if the penny passes. If not then I'd call the vet to see if he can get a chest Xray to make sure it's not still there.

I know of a pup who swallowed a nickel and the only reason the owner found out was due to the puppy being quite sick (they never saw him eat it). They finally removed the nickel and the stomach acid had chewed a hole through the center of the nickel.

[Aussie Red]

he he Giny you are right about no lead but I still say call vet. Better safe then sorry.

[bubbatd]

I'd watch for it and if not passed in a couple of days , vet check .

[Miakoda]

Pennies are very dangerous. Moreso than nickels, dimes, & quarters.

Call your vet.

[Spirit2010]

Any form of change is dangerous to your dog!! Call the vet, immdiately before the penny disolves! It could be very deadly if it gets in your pup's blood. Or something like that.

[Dirk]

I called the vet. If my dog doesn't pass the penny by Wednesday morning, he wants me to drop off the dog to do an x-ray.

What are the chances that the penny is stuck and he will need surgery?

Thanks!

[Doberluv]

Yes, zinc and copper in that form are poisonous. You don't want it to stay in his system. I hope he passes it. You have your work cut out for you examining his output. Good luck.

[bubbatd]

Any luck Dirk ????

[McKenzie]

When I was a kid I sallowed at least a dollar in coins not all at once but I never had a problem. Maybe thats why I always set off metal detectors.

[Dirk]

bubbatd,

No luck yet. I "squished" through his poop and found nothing. I hope they can tell from the x-ray that the penny is near it's way out.

[Buckshot]

I bet his stomach acid would disolve it. He may never pass it because its disolved. I have swallowed coins as a kid and I dont recall it sounding like I hit the jackpot when I went to the restroom. They never showed up on xrays either

[ledoc]

30lb of dog should pass a penny without too much drama and it would be a fair guess to say that the LD50 of that amount of either zinc or copper would only be relevant to a much smaller animal.
I would follow your vet's advice and if nothing shows by Wednesday, get an X ray done.

[~Jessie~]

Pennies are very dangerous... I would definitely give your vet a call.

[Dirk]

I just picked up my dog from the vet. The x-ray showed no sign of the penny. The blood test didn't show anything either. Kind of strange but I'm just glad my dog is OK.

Thanks to all.

[bubbatd]

Hmmmmm maybe he didn't eat it or you didn't find it ! Glad there's no surgery involved ..............Kudos for being vigilant !

[beerjr]

I am going through the same ordeal with our 3 yr old peekapoo. Never seen her digest the penny. There are two pieces of the penny inside her. She passed the one piece but the other is still in there. We took her to the vet 2 days after we noticed her not acting right. We got there and they ran tests and found the penny. She is in a very anemic state right now and she is on I.V. at the vet. We called two other vets to get seconds opinions and they both said there is nothing you can do for the dog. The vet we are at now, according to other vets, say they are just prolonging the inevitable. The second opinion vet said that the zinc has more than likley caused too much havic on her insides and there is nothing more we can do for her.

All I can think of after reading here is that the penny must have been in her for a while? Since there are two pieces? We wanted to know what to do? Do we hope the shots of ? whatever we got will help her? The shot is supposed to try to disolve the zinc in her body. Should we just go get her and let her spend the time here if 2 other vets say that there is nothing you can do? Or hope and pray this helps? Its very scary to think. We just dont know where to go or what to do right now.

Thank you.

[bubbatd]

OMG I hope she'll be all right !!! Why won't they operate ???? Please keep us posted !!! Thoughts are prayers are with you !

[beerjr]

Thank you bubba.... No idea why they wouldnt operate. But I just got off the phone with the vet and she had passed the last piece of the penny. They said she is not out of the woods yet, she is a very sick dog still. She is still recieving IV and blood transfusions. So we are not safe yet, but we are all praying.

[corgipower]

Sending prayers.

From here (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/214100.htm) ~

Treatment and Prevention:
After stabilizing the animal with fluids, oxygen, and blood products as necessary, removal of the source of zinc as early as possible is paramount. This often requires surgery or endoscopy. Inducing emesis to remove chronic gastric zinc foreign bodies is typically not rewarding because zinc objects often adhere to the gastric mucosa.
Diuresis with a balanced crystalloid solution is indicated to promote renal excretion of zinc and prevent hemoglobinuric nephrosis.
There is debate regarding the necessity of chelation therapy in cases of zinc toxicosis. Animals can recover from zinc intoxication following only supportive care and removal of the source. However, chelation therapy enhances elimination of zinc and thus may accelerate recovery. Calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (Ca-EDTA) successfully chelates zinc when given at 100 mg/kg/day IV or SC for 3 days (diluted and divided into 4 doses), but may exacerbate zinc-induced nephrotoxicity. Although they have been used to treat animals with zinc toxicity, d-penicillamine and dimercaprol (British antilewisite) have not been specifically validated for this purpose. Reported doses are 110 mg/kg/day for 7-14 days for d-penicillamine, and 3-6 mg/kg tid for 3-5 days for dimercaprol. Chelation therapy with any of these agents should be monitored with serial serum zinc levels to help determine the appropriate duration of treatment.
If diagnosed early and treated aggressively, the outcome is often favorable for animals with zinc toxicosis. Eliminating sources of zinc from the environment is essential in preventing recurrence.

[bubbatd]

I'm so glad the other half passed !!! Let's hope for the best !!!

[golden&hovawart]

OMG,I'm so sorry to hear this!.You and yr doggy are in my prayers for a speedy recovery!.