Alcohol addiction: dog going through agonizing withdrawal

Seeks
With alcohol addiction in the animal shelter: dog has to go through torturous rehab

When two dogs came to the shelter after the death of their owner, their condition suddenly deteriorated rapidly. The diagnosis: alcohol addiction. One animal died, one had to go to rehab.

Alcohol withdrawal is hell – this also applies to dogs. Two four-legged friends were given up at the English animal shelter Woodside Animal Welfare Trust, which turned out to be suffering from a strong alcohol addiction. Animal rights activists report on Facebook about the case of the brown Labrador Coco.

The dog was handed over to the shelter with a friend after the previous owner died. Nothing unusual at first, but after a while her condition deteriorated rapidly. They wriggled with convulsions, Coco survived the problems, the other dog unfortunately didn’t survive. But the situation of the Labrador did not improve either, he had to be medically cared for around the clock. Eventually, a veterinarian concluded from the symptoms that Coco was addicted to alcohol.

Alcoholic dog: The background remains unknown

Exactly how this came about remains an open question and will probably never really be clarified. “No one knows the details of how these dogs got into the alcohol situation, but we do know that without our care, Coco likely would not have survived this heartbreaking ordeal,” the shelter’s post read. Such a case has not yet occurred in the facility.

The dog’s withdrawal treatment, which was accompanied by veterinarians with medication, lasted four weeks. “Coco was closely monitored and checked every hour. It’s been a long road but he’s put in a lot,” shelter worker Kirstin Stone told the BBC. In the meantime, the animal is doing much better, he is now behaving “like a normal dog”.

Now that the two-year-old Labrador has survived this ordeal, he’s ready for the next chapter in his canine life: the shelter is looking for someone to adopt Coco and continue caring for him.

Sources: Woodside Animal Welfare Trust / BBC

Take a look at the photo series: have you ever heard of a striped tanrec or a hare mouse? We show rare animals that you probably don’t know yet.