Why Can’t Dogs Eat Chocolate? 

Source of pictures: pixabay

On the weekend, Daniel went to visit Benjamin, who had a big dog. The dog was not afraid of strangers at all, lazily lying on the balcony carpet, basking itself in the sunshine. Daniel brushed its golden hair with his hand and said enviously, "Your dog is so nice. You do not know how much I want a dog like this." Benjamin brought a comb and helped. "Of course, you can have one. I can give you a puppy when it has babies," said Benjamin. "We can’t have dogs," Daniel said, "My mom is allergic to animal hair. She sneezes when she sees anything fluffy," Daniel said sadly. Benjamin patted the dog’s head, looking at Daniel and comforted him, saying, "Don't be upset. You can come over whenever you want. By the way, its name is Thor." Daniel greeted it with a kind gesture, pulled up its front paw and said, "Hi, Thor. I’m Daniel, and I will be your part-time owner." The dog raised its paw and waved, as if saying that it understood, and then returned to its lazy prone position, leaving the boys laughing their heads off. Daniel took a piece of chocolate from his pocket. Mom gave it to him at noon. He tore off the wrapping paper and tried to put it in the dog’s mouth. Benjamin grabbed his hand quickly. "It is a gift," said Daniel, feeling puzzled. Benjamin took the dog aside and said, "Dogs can't eat chocolate." Daniel was surprised and asked, "How come?" Benjamin explained, "I accidentally fed him a piece of chocolate last Christmas. Thor ate it and started to vomit. My mom was so scared that she rushed it to the hospital. Luckily, they got there in time. The vet said that dogs should not eat chocolate. Chocolate is poison to them."

Daniel hadn’t thought about that. He still couldn't understand why it's ok for people to eat chocolate, but not for dogs. A moment later, he took some dog foods from Benjamin’s and gave them to Thor. They played with the dog and spent the whole afternoon happily.

In the evening, Daniel went back home. Before mom could ask, he said happily, "Benjamin’s dog is so cute. It knew what I was saying, and danced and chased its tail!" Before Mom could say anything, Daniel asked, "But why can’t dogs eat chocolate, Mom?"

"Chocolate contains a lot of theobromine and caffeine," she said as she was setting the table, "These substances bind to certain receptors on the cell surface, and prevent these receptors from binding to the natural substances in animals. It’s like someone has been occupying a seat, so the person who should have taken it has no place to sit. Dogs don’t have enzymes to digest theobromine. The theobromine won’t break down, so it keeps stimulating their nervous and vascular systems, raising their blood pressure and causing them to vomit and even killing them."

Daniel nodded vigorously and said, "That is what happened. Benjamin gave chocolate to his dog last year, and it kept vomiting and trembling. Luckily, they went to the hospital in time."

Mom continued, "You know, dogs are not completely forbidden to eat chocolate. Anything harmful to the body has a lethal dose. It takes a lethal amount of food to be harmful. The bigger the dog, the more chocolate it can eat, but you had better not feed chocolate to dogs, just to be on the safe side."

Daniel looked at Mom and said sincerely all of a sudden, "Thank God, we don't have a dog, or I would have killed him by accident. Mom, I can eat as much chocolate as I want. Do you have any left over from the chocolate you bought for lunch?"

Mom touched Daniel's head playfully and said, "We don't need a real dog. You are the big puppy of the family."

Daniel listened and deliberately barked like a fierce little doggie.

Author: Huang Jing