Narla the naughty French bulldog was a whisker away from dying after she wolfed down an almost entire box of chocolate liqueurs left wrapped up under the Christmas tree.

Both chocolate and alcohol are poisonous to dogs and Narla had eaten enough to bring on a frightening array of symptoms that can end with tremors, abnormal heart rhythm and rapid breathing, and which can far worse in so-called flat-faced breeds.

Luckily, Narla’s owner Suzanna Dixon knew the danger her pet was in when she arrived home and found the house in disarray.

“When I walked through the door my first thought was ‘we’ve been burgled!’ as there was torn up wrapping paper everywhere, but then I saw Narla with the nearly empty box of chocolates,” said Suzanna, 32, from South Shore, Blackpool, today.

“I know human chocolates can be poisonous to dogs so I rang PDSA and they told me to bring her straight down.”

Chocolate contains theobromine, a toxic chemical to dogs that is in found in higher and more dangerous levels the greater the cocoa content. The darker the chocolate, the greater the risk. Alcohol also puts pets in peril because their kidneys unable to process the compound.

Veterinary staff at Blackpool PDSA Pet Hospital immediately gave Narla drugs to induce vomiting to flush the chocolate from her system.

“We estimated that Narla had eaten around 200g of chocolate, which is an extremely dangerous amount for a dog of her size,” said PDSA vet Terry Ogdin.

“Thankfully she was brought in very quickly and we were able to treat her before the chocolate had a chance to digest.

Luckily, Narla has made a full recovery but her owner is warning families about the danger of chocolate to pets – especially when they are accessible at Christmas.

Suzanna added: “Not only did Narla eat a huge amount of chocolate, but they were also liqueur ones so the alcohol made it even worse.

“There won’t be any more chocolates under the Christmas tree and I’d urge others to ensure they don’t leave any chocolate within easy reach.”

The PDSA says not only do chocolate and alcohol pose a threat during the festive season, but other traditional fare on the dining table or in the kitchen, such as grapes, sultanas, onions and garlic, are also potential death traps.

Vets says owners should store chocolates and other poisonous foods safely and securely in the same way as medicines when they have pets in their household. 

For more information and advice visit www.pdsa.org.uk/poisons