Xylitol is widely available in New Zealand and it’s being linked to the death of a dog in the US.
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This sweetener is fine to be used by humans, but not by dogs.
Sam Caress and Jordan Pellett recently adopted Gunner.
A sugar-substitute can have deadly side effects if consumed by dogs, officials said Wednesday.
Luna started vomiting and Caress and Pellet rushed her to the vet, but it was too late. A few animal welfare groups are pushing for warning labels on more products that contain Xylitol.
The product most commonly found with Xylitol is sugar free gum, by the sweetener is used in a few sweets that are sugar-free, chewable vitamins and even in peanut butter and certain baked goods.
For dogs, xylitol is actually about 100 times as toxic as milk chocolate, despite it being completely harmless to us, and can lower your pup’s blood sugar and cause seizures, brain damage, and liver failure.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) reported that from 2004 to 2014, the number of calls in regards to xylitol that were made to its poison control center increased drastically from 82 to 3,700.
A veterinarian with an animal hospital in Washington D.C. said the key is for the dog owners to be vigilant.
The doctor said that dog owners must be careful since dogs are nosey and curious creatures that can eat at nearly any time.
“With a lot of things like candy and gum and peanut butter, we check all of them, and if they have xylitol in them we don’t buy them”.
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According to Dr. Brutlag, there are still many dog owners who have never heard of the danger of Xylitol and do not understand that something as benign as an ordinary sweetener could be toxic to pets, she explained.
