An story claiming that allowing dogs to drink ice water can harm and potentially kill them is again making the rounds on Facebook.

Urban legend authority says the story first emerged in 2007.

And while the dog in the story may have been in danger, more than likely your dog is not.

It centers on a dog named Baran. The writer claims to have placed some ice cubes in the dog’s water bowl on a hot day. The dog then appears to be in distress. A veterinarian tells the owner that the dog was experiencing violent muscle spasms in its stomach from the ice water.

The writer claims that the spasms could have caused bloating in the dog’s stomach, which could be fatal.

Snopes cites multiple veterinarians who say that the scenario is an unlikely one. They say that dogs can potentially develop a bloat from drinking too much water, but the temperature is less of a factor.

“Firstly, while ice may cause a muscle spasm, this is more likely to cause vomiting,” Australian veterinarian Dr. Audrey Harvey said. “Secondly, if ice caused bloating, then we’d see more cases of bloat during winter in dogs that live outdoors in cold parts of the country, where their water bowl ices over, and this isn’t the case.”

Dr. Patty Khuly, a Florida-based vet writing on, wrote in 2010 that the story could be a true anecdote, but should not be shared as a medical warning.

“The writer is misguidedly offering up her story as a helpful truth. When, in fact, the information is unproven, unreliably sourced, unverified, and utterly unnecessarily disseminated to the public,” she said.