This is really bizarre,
Bella picked up a pufferfish 8 hours ago.
She's clearly in a lot of distress.
She's very weak,
she can't stand,
she's got tremors.
The toxin in pufferfish is actually,
I think,1200 times more powerful than cyanide.
She should be dead right now.
At the Bondi Referral Hospital SASH,
Lisa is confronted with a rare emergency.
One year old Bella has bitten
a deadly pufferfish on the beach.
Hey, darling, can I pick you up?
Right, okay, okay. You're alright.
Okay, So Bella apparently picked up a pufferfish
this morning.
She's been vomiting all day.
She's clearly in a lot of distress.
She's very weak,
she can't stand,
she's got tremors.
Pufferfish are extremely dangerous.
I mean, usually an animal should be dead
within 60 minutes of biting one.
Within half an hour,
they have struggling to breathe
and they need to be put on a ventilator.
So this happened this morning,
it's now been several hours
and she's only starting to show
these sorts of signs later.
So it is quite atypical, but I am worried.
This is really weird.
I've never actually seen anything like this.
I just want to make sure that she can
breathe and ventilate properly,
because the worry is that
the diaphragm can get paralysed and that's
when they die.
In reception,
"a quick search of the Internet is not helping"
Bella's owner, Greg.
Just did a check and
the toxin in Pufferfish
is actually, I think it's 1200 times more powerful
than cyanide.
Obviously, a little bit goes a long way
for a poor little dog that small.
Oh baby girl, okay, okay. You're okay. I know.
This is really bizarre.
Bella picked up a pufferfish 8 hours ago.
She should be dead right now.
"There's no treatment for pufferfish toxicity."
There's no antidote at all.
So Bella needs to be treated with a drip
and pain, relief and sedation.
And then we need to watch her really closely to make
sure she doesn't need to go on a ventilator.
Just have a sleep again.
Sorry to disturb you, sweetie.
It's a rare case, and Lisa is searching for answers.
What we do know about the
toxin in Pufferfish is that it's one of
the most deadly toxins in the world.
It's the same sort of toxin
that's in blue ringed octopuses.
It's called tetrodotoxin.
So what it basically does is it shuts
the nerves down all over the body.
I must admit, I haven't actually ever seen
anything quite like this.
Bella's owner, Greg, is struggling to cope
with the news.
"Worst case scenario with pufferfish toxicity is that it"
can affect the heart,
so it can make the heart basically stop.
Usually, if they're going to improve,
whether they're on a ventilator or not,
"they will take, say, 24 to 36 hours to get better."
She's still with us,
so she's going well.
Greg's now calling his wife, Caroline.
Little Bella may be running out of time.
Oh, sweetheart, here we are.
Here we are.
Here you go.
Greg's wife, Caroline, has arrived at SASH
to comfort the critically ill Bella.
And Bella just turned one yesterday,
so she's still a baby.
She's such a cheeky little creature.
She's like, she's just cheeky
and she has a really cheeky little grin.
It's amazing how little hairy creatures
can just touch your heart.
We don't know what's going to happen
over the next few hours, so,
we'll just take it hour by hour, I think.
Who's a sleepy one?
It's also a long night for Lisa at SASH
"as she keeps checking on Bella's condition."
Can we see if you can stand?
Okay, okay, okay. Alright, alright, alright.
You don't have to do that.
She's still not good.
She still hasn't got control of her legs
and her head's sort of swaying around and
she's groaning.
She still doesn't want to be touched.
So the toxin is still in her system.
But when Lisa puts the shaky Bella on the floor,
she's showing plenty of courage.
Come here.
This is pretty amazing.
"I mean, Bella's still fragile, but she's standing,"
and she's even walking.
Yes, she's wobbly, but she's walking.
She's getting there she's sort of
just learning to use her legs again.
Are you still a bit wobbly?
Oh, my goodness.
"Now I can pick you up and you don't quiver."
Several days after biting a poisonous pufferfish
Bella has made an extraordinary recovery.
Look at you.
She's got her normal strength
And she's bright and happy
and running around wagging her tail.
And her mum and dad are going
to be very excited to see her.
"Caroline and Bella's big sister, Coco"
have arrived to take her home.
Look who's there!
Oh, kisses.
Really, really lucky little dog.
Because following the textbooks,
she should have been dead within an hour
and not with us
So it's almost a miracle, it's fantastic.