Christmas Karma

By: Scott Dudis

Cornell University, Class of 2014

Remembering perspective is, perhaps, the best way to deal with stress. As exams were wrapping up this December, I was thinking about wrapping up presents and packing a suitcase as I bragged to “less fortunate” classmates whom I knew were scheduled in the clinic on the holiday. I boasted that I would be home, with my family, enjoying my time off. Instead of surprises in the form of many glorious gifts, I was visited by the Ghost of Christmas Irony as I, too, spent several hours at the emergency animal hospital with my own dog, all night on December 25^th. In short, she apparently decided it was Santa who had left her a small box of Dove Dark Chocolate Truffles under the tree, not one of my relatives who had, in fact, accidentally left it unattended while we were all away.

First, I’ll report that the dog is just fine; however, there were a few more moments in this story that caught me off my guard. After returning home to find the house a mess and my dog bouncing off the walls, more hyper than the kids on Christmas morning, I searched the wreckage to evaluate what exactly had happened. When I located the empty box of chocolates and nearby wrappers, I tried to decipher what was left of the label to figure out how much cocoa/methylxanthines she ingested and decide if we needed to rush to the ER. No such information could be found. There was, however, a hotline to call for product information. Despite the holiday, I tried calling and selected an option for “medical emergencies.” Coincidentally, I spoke with a veterinarian on the phone. “Excellent!” I thought to myself, and explained the situation, proudly using my most doctor-y words. The second surprise of the night was to learn that Dove had “no information available on ‘seasonal products.’” The incredibly helpful veterinary operator was, regrettably, unable to help, and I found myself driving to the nearest 24-hour animal care center. Then I came upon my third big surprise as I arrived at the small clinic in our tiny suburb in southern Ohio, where my dog was treated simultaneously with four other chocolate toxicity cases.

Despite everything I know, I found myself feeling incredibly helpless, and it bothered me that, with a problem which appeared so pervasive for the season, there was “no information available” to guide my actions. I regretted bragging to my classmates, who then seemed so much more fortunate to be on the other side of the examination table. I mulled over the countless things I thought I could have, should have, would have done differently. In those moments, all of the stress of exams and the holidays vanished, put in perspective in a dramatic and emotional way. Thankfully, though, as I said before – the dog is just fine. I have since had a follow-up call with Dove, encouraging them to include more information on packaging or on the hotline for all of their products for all of the seasons. I also learned a valuable lesson about putting stress in perspective both for the client and clinician.

Most importantly, I committed to being an accountability partner for my dog. Her new year’s resolution: no more chocolate.