IMPORTANT PRODUCT WARNINGS
Dangerous
Toy
If you have this toy around (Four Paws, Inc. Item #20227-001,
UPC Code 0 4566320227 9), please be aware a dogs tongue
can get vacuumed into the ball and cut off circulation.
At this point Four Paws has not recalled this product and
it seems as if they are not going to.
Please see:
http://www.thechaistory.blogspot.com/
for the complete story.
Sugar
Free Gum with Xylito
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 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 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 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 have 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.
Read more research
& treatments:
click
here
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