The 71/2 year-old dachshund "has always been a good eater," said his owner, Debbie Novick.
And while Oscar is very well-behaved, "he'll get into food if it's left out."
On the night of Dec. 18, Novick invited two other families over to her Newtonville home to celebrate Hanukkah. The guests brought traditional chocolate gelt, or coins, which were placed on a coffee table in the living room.
The people settled into another room to enjoy their dinner. "But while we were eating, Oscar was eating," Novick said.
She returned to the living room to find the gelt's gold tinfoil wrappers all over the floor. She thought one of the children had eaten the chocolate. One of her friend's worried that her Yorkshire terrier, which she had brought with her to the house, had been the chocolate-coin culprit.
But Novick quickly realized it must have been Oscar. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time he'd eaten items he shouldn't have.
Four years ago, Oscar managed to break into a childproof container of liver-flavored medication for Novick's other dog, a Chihuahua named Scooby.
"He ate through every single one of them," Novick said. He spent two days in the hospital as a result.
Sometimes, however, Oscar's outsized appetite has a less-dramatic outcome.
"He's eaten entire foot-long ham and cheese subs," Novick said with a laugh. "He blows up enormously."
Oscar's treat-driven tenacity was present yet again that Hanukkah night when the pilfered chocolates were discovered.
"He pulled it down from the coffee table, got through the netting and opened the foil," Novick said.
And he'd done so with what Novick called "surgical" precision.
"When they finally had him throw up at the vet, they said there was no foil in there whatsoever," she said.
Novick said she didn't think much of the potential consequences at first.
"I was like, You pig,' and Thank God he didn't get chocolate on my couch.' "
But a couple of hours later, as she was getting ready for bed, Novick's maternal instincts kicked in.
"Oscar was acting somewhat clingy and needy to me," she said. "It's the same thing as parenting: You just get that gut feeling that something isn't right."
Novick quickly called the Animal Poison Control Center Hotline.
For $55, the center takes on a pet's case, gives the owner advice and will even speak to the veterinarian if such care is needed.
The hotline recommended Novick induce vomiting in Oscar by squirting a small amount of hydrogen peroxide into his mouth. She rushed out to the drugstore and administered two doses, but it didn't fizzle properly, leading Novick to assume she had gotten a defective batch.
At that point, poison control feared that Oscar was absorbing the chocolate into his body, and recommended that Novick take him to an emergency clinic.
It was past 11 p.m. when Novick dashed out of the house and to the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center of New England in Waltham, a 24-hour-a-day emergency and critical-care center.
Oscar's case wasn't a particularly unusual one. "Toxicity is a big part of what we do, especially at this time of year," said Dr. Amy A. Shroff, chief of staff and co-owner of VESCONE.
"Animals are eating Christmas ornaments and chocolates ... especially around the holidays, it can become a little bit more intense," she said.
"There are a lot more people in the house, so things are disrupted, and people might be giving pets things they shouldn't have."
VESCONE has treated a basset hound that had eaten 200 Tootsie Rolls, a pug that made his way through two boxes of chocolates, and a chocolate Labrador that got into its owners Starbucks coffee beans, Shroff said.
When a dog has ingested too much chocolate, as in Oscar's case, the theobromine and caffeine in its system could cause neurological and cardiovascular damage, or even death. Owners should be on the lookout for symptoms including hyper-excitability, high heart rate, restlessness, increased urination, muscle tremors, vomiting and diarrhea, she said.
Dr. Heather Chalfant quickly determined that Oscar, a 19-pound dog, had eaten 35 to 40 pieces of gelt, or between 4.5 and 7 ounces of chocolate, which is on the low end of toxicity for a dog his size and weight.
Nonetheless, "They immediately took him in back and gave him an injection that induces vomiting," Novick said.
"The nurse came back and said, We've never seen a dachshund vomit up that much chocolate. He kept going and going and going. It's a good thing you brought him in.' "
After Oscar had finished vomiting, Chalfant gave him activated charcoal, which would absorb the remaining chocolate in the body. By 1:30 a.m., they had administered a second dose and placed Oscar on IV fluids.
Novick was told she could leave and call in the morning. Throughout the night, VESCONE staff kept Oscar hydrated and continued checking his electrolytes, sodium and potassium levels and blood pressure.
"I think, by the morning, his heart rate was pretty much down, he was better hydrated, and there was no more vomiting," Shroff said.
By early afternoon, Novick was able to take Oscar home.
"He did great," Shroff said. "All's well that ends well for him."
