Beware: Breath Mints Can Be Toxic to Dogs

[Tim & Smiley]

Hello to all.

In a recent San Jose Mercury News newspaper article, I learned about
how dangerous breath mints can be to dogs. The toxic substance is
xylitol, a sugar substitute that appears in some breath mints, gum,
mouthwash, and toothpastes.

For a pug, named Harley, ingesting a couple of small breath mints
containing xylitol nearly killed her. Within hours of ingesting the
mints, Harley went into acute liver distress. Her blood pressure
dropped so low the vet feared that she would not be able to
administer an IV catheter. In the end, Harley required two blood
transfusions and other medical treatments. Harley was lucky. The vet
treating her specialized in toxicology. According to that vet,
xylitol-
related deaths and poisonings are becoming more common.

For more information about xylitol and other products poisonous to
pets, go to www.aspca.org and click on Animal Poison Control in the
left-hand column.

Let's keep our wonderful canine buddies safe!

All the best,

Tim
Lovealab.com