Back in the day, we had that Oreo advert. You know, where the little girl shows her dog how to eat an Oreo – “First you twist it, then you lick it…” – and we all learnt that chocolate isn’t good for dogs.

It was as much of a PSA as it was an advert for the chocolate biscuits, and chocolate has never been given to dogs since. Kinda.

It seems that the world has kind of forgotten that.

This past weekend was Prince George’s third birthday and, to celebrate, the Royal family released images of the prince playing around in their Norfolk garden. One such photo got the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) a bit on edge – after all, the Royal family does have a lot of influence.

In it, little Prince George is offering his beautiful hound a lick of his ice cream. Although their pet spaniel, Lupo, isn’t exactly getting involved with the delicious dessert – in fact, he looks a bit taken aback at the offer – the RSPCA released a statement:

It is lovely that Prince George is trying to help keep his family dog, Lupo, cool in these high temperatures. We would advise to be cautious when giving their dogs food meant for human consumption as some items, like chocolate, can be highly toxic to dogs and dairy items can be difficult for them to digest.

The RSPCA has every reason to release such a statement, and I think it’s high time we have another chocolate-isn’t-good-for-dogs inspired PSA.

[source:time]