A Cautionary Tail . . . er . . . Tale
I’ll tell you right now, my post today has nothing at all to do with writing. But it should be of interest to those of you who own dogs, or know someone who does.
This is the story of Louie, a seven-month-old Scotty who belongs to my daughter. Like most puppies (and terriers in particular), Louie is curious. He’s been known to get into trouble when he’s not watched carefully.
That’s exactly what happened last week when Louie highjacked Anne’s purse, rooted through it and ate a package of gum.
Funny, right? We thought so, too, until it occurred to us that maybe she should call the vet.
What Anne found out will make dog owners’ hair stand on end.
You see, there is an ingredient called XYLITOL that’s being used in a lot of gums, mints, candies, etc. It’s apparently just fine for people to eat, but xylitol can be fatal to dogs. First it makes their blood sugars plummet, then it shuts down their livers.
After his gum foray, Louie spent most of one evening in the doggy ER. He went to his regular vet the next day and ended up being hospitalized overnight.
The good news is that he’s fine now, and back to his old trouble-making ways. The bad news could have been very bad, indeed.
Louie’s gum of choice was Orbit spearmint, and we’ve contacted the Wrigley people and asked that they put a warning on their label. Gum (and mints, etc.) that contain xylitol need to be kept out of reach of dogs. If you’d like to drop them a line and tell them you agree, you can go to http://www.wrigley.com/contact_us/contact_form.do
Louie was nearly the late Louie
