Beware: Xylitol in chewing gum toxic to dogs

[Bina]

I received this e-mail from the dog rescue where I volunteer:

DOG Owners Beware! -Xylitol
If you have a dog READ IT then, forward to all you know who do have a dog!
If you don't have a dog - forward to all you know who do have a dog as well as to those who love pets !!


This is true: 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 (Sugar substitute ? which contains sugar alcohol)
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 the m . 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 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.

 

[njean]

My doggies don't like chewing gum --- say it sticks to their teeth!!

 

[Bina]

My chocolate Labrador would eat about a pound of it if she could.....! Bad doggie.

 

[AgilityDog]

Jet's notorious for sticking her nose in purses and training bags. Last week she raided dog treats from my friend's purse! Mine stays up high, and zipped (and I usually have S.F. gum, so this warning is appreciated).

 

[Wise]

We were going to order Xylitol once, but a friend who uses it told us about its toxicity to dogs. So that was that, we didn't order it.

 

[skeptic49]

Thanks for the "heads up" on the gum. I didn't know that

Jim, who would not want anything like that to happen to his best buddy, Bradley the dog

 

[Lisa in Katy]

One of my dogs got into my daughter's bag. We found a tootsie roll pop wrapper (chewed a little) and most of the stick on the floor. Wonder how many licks it took to get to the center of the tootsie roll pop?

 

[hall]

Thanks for sharing. I did not know that.

 

[hensylee]

I just sent this on to my precious doggy owners.