Snoopy ate a box of mento's... and almost died!!
Snoopy
1.6 year old Yellow English Lab. accidentally ate a SMALL box of sugar free Mento's.
Hi guys, just wanted to share with everyone what happened to Snoopy this past week.
On Monday night around 9pm, his family noticed he was acting totally normal, and then about 10pm they noticed he was trying to throw up and did not seem like himself AT ALL.
Snoopy is typically a high energy dog, and a bit of a trouble maker..
They realized that he had accidentally gotten into the garage and eaten poison (this was their original thought). There was a liquid on the floor, and immediately everyone rushed into panic mode and tried to get him into the car!!
I am not 100% sure on all the details, but once at the vet- they found that his blood sugar was so low, it was causing him to have multiple seizures and his brain was not responding. He was almost in a small coma caused by the multiple seizures. As you can imagine, his family was totally not prepared for things to be so bad.
His stomach was pumped and the vets discovered he had eaten a small box of sugar free Mentos!
Luckily Snoopy made it through this ordeal and was released from the vet 2 days after the incident. He made a full recovery :)
Sugar free Mento's contain a sweetener called Xylitol known to be extremely harmful to dogs.
Symptoms of Xylitol poisoning include vomiting followed by a sudden lowering of blood sugar. This results in decreased activity, lack of coordination, collapse, and seizures.
Here is a link to an article from CBS news that warns people of the rising threat Xylitol is causing to dogs. Click Here
Here is a list of products that contain Xylitol: Click Here You will be surprised at how many items contain Xylitol!!
Tips for prevention and what to do in case your dog ingests Sugar free candies/gum:
The best thing we can do is make sure we are extra careful and keep these things away from our dogs.
If you suspect your dog has ingested something poisonous, take your dog to your closest vet immediately, the sooner you act on the situation, the better the outcome can be for your dog.
VCA Hospitals are open 24hrs. Find the nearest one here: Click here
Call Poison Control:
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (ASPCA-APCC) – 1.888.426.4435. The ASPCA-APCC is staffed by board-certified veterinary toxicologists and specialist technicians with access to the largest veterinary-related toxin database available. The ASPCA were the pioneers in animal poison control and they provide a fantastic and valuable service. The expertise and guidance they provide is well worth the nominal fee typically charged. Their experts are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and all 365 days of the year. There is typically a charge for this service, $65 at the time of writing. The ASPCA-APCC has produced a helpful smartphone app (available on both iOS and Android platforms) and also maintains a great online database of plants and flowers that are toxic to animals – complete with pictures and descriptions of the problems they cause.
Pet Poison Helpline (PPH) - 1.800.213.6680. PPH is staffed by veterinarians and veterinary technicians with special training in animal poisonings; as well as board-certified veterinary toxicologists, internal medicine specialists, and emergency & critical care specialists. This resource is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days of the year. As of the time of writing, the charge for this service is $49. PPH's helpful smartphone app is currently available on iOS only, but their website is mobile-friendly.
Pets & Pesticides - If you have a pesticide-related question you can call the National Pesticide Information Center at 1.800.858.7378 or email them at npic@ace.orst.edu.
If you guys have any tips or comments, feel free to share below!