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WARNING! To all dog owners pass this on to everyone you can.

 

 

Last Friday evening, I arrived home from work, fed Chloe, our 24# Dachshund 

just as I normally do. Ten minutes later I walked into the den just in 

time to see her head inside the pocket of Katie's friend's purse. She had a 

guilty look on her face so I looked closer and saw a small package of 

sugar-free gum. It contained xylitol. 

 

I remembered that I had recently read that sugar-free gum can be deadly for 

dogs so I jumped on line and looked to see if xylitol was the ingredient. I 

found the first website below and it was the one. Next, I called our vet. She said to bring her in immediately.

 

Unfortunately, it was still rush hour and it took me almost 1/2 hour to 

get there. Meanwhile, since this was her first case, our vet found another 

website to figure out the treatment. She took Chloe and said they would 

induce her to vomit, give her a charcoal drink to absorb the toxin (even 

though they don't think it works) then they would start an iv with dextrose 

 

The xylitol causes dogs to secrete insulin so their blood sugar drops very 

quickly. The second thing that happens is liver failure. If that happens, 

even with aggressive treatment, it can be difficult to save them. She told 

us she would call us.

 

Almost two hours later, the vet called and said that contents of her 

stomach contained 2-3 gum wrappers and that her blood sugar had dropped from 

90 to 59 in 30 minutes. She wanted us to take Chloe to another hospita l 

that has a critical care unit operating around the clock. We picked her up 

and took her there. They had us call the ASPCA poison control for a case 

number and for a donation, their doctors would direct Chloe's doctor on 

treatment. They would continue the iv, monitor her blood every other hour 

and then in 2 days test her liver function. She ended up with a central 

line in her jugular vein since the one in her leg collapsed, just as our 

regular vet had feared.

 

Chloe spent almost the entire weekend in the critical care hospital. After 

her blood sugar was stabilized, she came home yesterday. They ran all the 

tests again before they released her and so far, no sign of liver damage.

 

Had I not seen her head in the purse, she probably would have died and we 

wouldn't even had known why.

 

Three vets told me this weekend, that they were amazed that I even knew  ;

about it since they are first learning about it too. Please tell everyone 

you know about xylitol and dogs. It may save another life.

 

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp)

Hey! I HOPE she's ok. That's really awful. I'm VERY GLAD you knew about this and were able to seek rapid treatment. Give Chloe big hugs for me......!

Hankkdst, thank you for this warning! I am so glad that she ended up okay thanks to your fast observance and knowledge of your dogs behaviour. Good job!

Thanks for the info Hank, hope Chloe's OK........

Thank you so much for the info, Hank. 

I really hope everything continues to go well for Chloe!!

Passing this info on to all my personal e-mail contacts.

Thank you again.

I did not know this.. Thank you so much for the info...

Best wishes to Chloe for a speedy recovery.

Thanks HANK for this information, I passed it on to everyone I knew, they all own dogs!!  I hope Chloe is feeling better and back to her self soon!!  Please keep let us know....  Have you considered yourself a HERO of your family with Chloe included as your family!!!!!!?!?!?!?!?!

I'll pass this on to everyone I know that has a dog....The 1 I have in the house thinks he's a goat and eats everything he can get in his mouth from his food to soft drink cans!!!

I wish Chloe a very speedy recovery...=)

Thanks for the information. I hope Chloe is doing well.

XYLITOL is a LAXATIVE as well, for all of those indulging  sugar free. watch out

Good call, Nicole! Thanks hank for the info! I dont have a dog anymore but when i do get one i will keep my bags closed so it wont get my gum!!

thanks for the info i had not heard of that and will pass it on to all my dog lovers.

Been trying to post info for almost two hours on many items that are bad and good.  It won't post the list os Ill just post the link and you can go to the ASPCA pages and get the info.  There are LOTS of pages to find everything on this topic.  Cynthia

PLEASE NOTE:  IF you think your animal has been poisoned, get them TO A VET.  TIME IS IMPORTANT.  If needed YOUR VET will call the ASPCA Poison Control Center for assistance.



http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc

 

Glad that Chloe survived...and thanks for posting I just sent it to my friend ,....she has 5 dogs...