Reading dog owners shocked as mischievous mutt munches 25 poisonous acorns

Watch: ITV News Meridian's Penny Silvester speaks to a couple after their rescue dog Ollie almost died swallowing acorns

A couple from Reading are urging pet owners to stay alert after their rescue dog nearly died when he swallowed 25 poisonous acorns.

Four-year-old Ollie, a Border collie-mix, was adopted from an animal rescue centre in Texas and given a new life in Britain by Rachel Lake and Cory Smith.

They were on their regular walk in his new local park when the couple stopped to chat with another dog owner.

While they were distracted, mischievous Ollie decided to pass the time by wolfing down mouthful upon mouthful of acorns.

Owner Rachel Lake said: “We must have been stood there for 20 minutes or so then, just as we were finishing up, out of the corner of my eye I saw Ollie chewing up an acorn and swallowing it.

“We didn’t think too much about it because acorns look so harmless, but it began playing on our minds a bit.

“Then we did some Googling and discovered that acorns are not harmless at all and are in fact poisonous for dogs because of the tannins they contain."

“At this stage we had no idea how many acorns he’d eaten, and Ollie didn’t show any signs of being ill. It was quite the reverse – he was actually looking very pleased with himself! 

The couple called the emergency vet who checked him over and gave him medicine to make him sick to clear his stomach.

They were astonished when he produced dozens of separate acorns.

His shocked owner Cory Smith said: "The vet actually came out and said he'd swallowed 25 acorns. She even took a picture because she was that impressed that he was not showing any symptoms.

“It was really frightening for us – even the thought of losing Ollie was incredibly upsetting. We think of him as part of our family."

Emergency vet Anita Notenboom from Vets Now said: “Acorns look small and unthreatening, but they really are very dangerous to dogs if consumed in large quantities.

"A lot of people think of acorns as a physical obstruction rather than a poison.

"However if the dog is able to crack through the shell there are chemicals inside the acorn nut that are poisonous as well as the buds and leaves.

"The tannins in acorns are a type of chemical that is toxic for dogs and can lead to fatal liver and kidney failure."

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