Allison (Houston, Texas) on 12/19/2009:

3 hours later, I then gave my dog 2 capsules of 280 mg of activated charcoal (560 Mg total). DO NOT USE CHARCOAL BRISQUETTE FOR BARBECUE!!! THEY CONTAIN KEROSENE? OR LIGHTER FLUID TO HELP WITH THE BURNING AND IS TOXIC TO INGEST OR EAT. The dosage of charcoal on the lable for humans is 2 capsules for minor problems. Since this is an emergency situation, if you have a large animal weighing 100 pounds, I would use no more than 4 capsules at one time as you want to use enough to absorb the toxic material but not enough to kill the animal, I had bought mine over the internet for myself in case of food poisoning. activated Charcoals is an absorbant agent to help capture unwanted materials and gas to carry them out of the digestive system. They DO INTERFERE with absorbing other medications so TAKE THEM APART from others meds which is why I gave her the milk thistles 3 hours before and not together.

These charcoals were disguised inside canned cat food followed with more water to help dissolve the capsules quickly once inside the stomach.

I also have on hand liquid bentonite clay (oral form used for detox, not the cosmetic kind for face mask) so I gave my dog 1 tablespoon of it plus plenty of water (6-8 tablespoon) to wash it down. this was given 30 minutes after the charcoal.

I stayed up with her til about 2 a.m. and before I went to sleep, I gave her another capsule of milk thistle along with about (160 mg of magnesium citrate to help counteract anticipated muscle twitching and seisure)Magnesium is supposed to help relax the muscles but too much will cause diarrhea. I forgot to mention that in between, I allow her to eat as much of her regular food as she wants hoping to dilute the toxin in her system. my baby did not vomit at all or excessively urinate, or have diarrhea. She did exibit some hyperactivity and her temperature was a little higher than normal(a sign of chocolate poisoning), so I try to kept her from overheating. I keep taking her outside incase she needed to go bathroom as frequency is a sign of poisoning. But she only went normally.

Next morning, my baby looked normal: no soiling of any kind (urine or feces.) I took her outside for bathroom (she still exhibited a little hyperactivity)and bought her back in to give her another dose of 2 charcoal capsules with canned cat food. As she did not looked distressed, I decided not to take her to the vet. later on in the afternoon, I gave her one more capsule of milk thistle and that was it.

The critical period for chocolate toxicity is 24 to 36 hours after ingestion. Symptoms usually appear within a few hours after ingestion. With the amount and the type of chocolate ingested for the size (12 pounds )of my baby, it really was a fatal dose. My baby was saved by milk thistle, charcoal, and magnesium. I was lucky I didn't have to take her to the vets. But if she had shown more distress, I would have. It was also recommended that the pet be induced vomiting using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water a few spoonful. google "chocolate poisoning in dogs" for how-to. I didn't induce vomiting in my case because I suspect a few hours has already passed since ingestion and the chocolate was already on the way to her intestine and not in the stomach. Thus the immediate dose of milk thistle. Lesson learned is that chocolates must be stored in child proof containers where dogs And cats cannot have access. This scared me so bad that I won't be having any chocolate in the house for a long time in the future.