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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Mon 2 Nov 2015
Source: The Wall Street Journal [edited]
http://www.wsj.com/articles/sweetene...ngs-1446512402
snip
Xylitol, a sugar substitute also found in gummy vitamins and other products, is 100 times as harmful to dogs as milk chocolate, experts say.
A woman from Charlotte, North Carolina, had no idea that a sweetener in sugarless chewing gum could nearly kill her family's dog. She came home to find that the labradoodle [a cross between a Labrador retriever and the standard, miniature or toy poodle] had knocked her son's "Ice Breakers" gum off the counter and ingested about 20 pieces. The dog began vomiting and later became lethargic. A local animal hospital diagnosed liver failure.
"They told me to bring my kids in to say goodbye to her," said [the woman] "We all held her and cried." 3 blood-plasma transfusions later, the dog pulled through. Bills for the incident late last year [2014] came to more than USD 5000.
[byline: Mark Maremont]
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communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[As various holidays are approaching, this is a timely article as every pet owner should be aware of xylitol. Furthermore there are more of these toxic ingestions than the news media cover. Too often a pet owner is not aware of how dangerous this substance is. Many animals die of liver failure. However, as pointed out in the article, some animals survive and recover, but it can also be a costly ordeal.
Please remove pet access to toothpaste, candies, gums, mints, vitamins, cooked goods, and any other substance containing xylitol. Be aware of your pet's health and if the pet becomes ill, please take the animal to a veterinarian for treatment. - Mod.TG
http://promedmail.org/direct.php?id=20151105.3768212