I received this email today, and I have checked it out on Snopes. This was something I was totally unaware of, thankfully we don't like the stuff, but
lots of people do.
Xylitol is poisonous to dogs
I've checked out the follwoing personally, and it is true.
If you look at the Snopes website link mentioned below, it does say that
it's unsure as to whether this is a true story, and if the dog's name is
really Chloe, but the information regarding Xylitol being poisonous to dogs
is most definitley true.
Chris
Only 3 grams of Xylitol (found in sugar free chewing gum) is enough to
kill a 65lb dog. And QUICKLY!!!!! Please pass this warning on to
everyone you know who has dogs. It may just save a life
Here is the link to further information:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp
Warning to all dog owners pass this on to everyone you can
Last Friday evening, I arrived home from work, fed Chloe, our 24 Lb
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 fluid therapy 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
hospital 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 fluid therapy,
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.
Sue
