Pudding the black Labrador's inquisitiveness nearly got the better of her after she snaffled an overdose of pills at her Pilton home.

Her owners were awoken by a commotion at half past three in the morning recently to find their beloved pet had eaten – among other things – an entire packet of Paracetamol tablets.

Luckily, Pudding's owners realised the potential severity of the situation and immediately contacted their veterinary practice, the Shepton Veterinary Group.

Vet Martin Law advised that four-year-old Pudding should be made to vomit in the first instance. And, under his instruction, a dishwasher tablet in the back of the mouth produced instant results – a delight for her owners at such early hours.

This did remove some of the drug from the system but the crisis was far from over. Martin calculated that Pudding had managed to consume more than twice the toxic dose of Paracetamol and advised she would require treatment with an intravenous drug to counteract its effects. Otherwise she would almost certainly develop acute, fatal liver and kidney failure.

Pudding's owners rushed her to the surgery whilst Martin set about sourcing the treatment. Although Paracetamol is one of the more common causes of poisoning, cases with such high doses are, luckily, comparatively rare, so the antidote is not routinely kept in stock at the surgery. However, as the same drug is used to treat humans, Martin drove straight to West Mendip Hospital's A and E where staff were able to help him source and purchase the drug immediately from Yeovil District Hospital. Pudding was put onto intravenous fluids and the drug therapy started. She was also fed activated charcoal to help bind any remaining Paracetamol in the digestive tract and prevent it from being absorbed.

Pudding stayed on fluids until the end of the day to ensure that any last traces of the Paracetamol were flushed from her system, but in the evening she was so bright and bouncy that she was clearly ready to go home.

Martin said: "Pudding was very lucky. Her owners were very quick to act and the staff at the A and E departments were wonderful. I can't thank them enough for their help as it truly saved her life."