It's a Saturday morning and I'm up at 7 a.m. Normally I would be sleeping, running if I'm feeling motivated. But instead I'm sitting on the couch holding back tears and cuddling my dog's favorite toy, a pink stuffed snake.
See, my baby dog was rushed into the emergency vet last night. She ate a bunch of pieces of ice breaker lemonade gum. After finding her throwing up, we googled the gum and found out it had a dangerous ingredient, xylitol, an artificial sugar. For dogs, it is 100 times more toxic than chocolate. As many people know, chocolate is poison for dogs, 0.7 of an ounce per pound causes toxicity. For xylitol, one piece of gum with the ingredient could kill an 8-pound dog. You can imagine my horror to know that an item this poisonous had been in my home.
Veterinarians and scientists are still discovering foods and ingredients that are dangerous to our pets. It was just recently that it was discovered chocolate and grapes are harmful. As animal lovers, we like to spoil our pets. We give them table scraps because they are cute, but as the truth comes out, it just isn't worth the risk. We love our pets, and for this reason, we should keep them safe.
It isn't entirely pet owners' fault, as we are not aware of the toxins that affect our pets. The gum container that caused my dog to be sent to the vet did not have any warning notes on the packaging. The manufacturer may argue, "Why should we put a warning? The ingredient is on there." Yes, that is true. But many people do not know what is harmful. And yes, I understand that putting a warning about how your product contains an ingredient harmful to dogs could reduce demand, but your failing to do so reduces my respect for your company.
There are other sugar replacements. Xylitol is not needed to be put in a product so accessible to animals. I understand companies have to make money and maybe other sugar replacements are expensive, but I still think putting an ingredient like that in products is inexcusable for a world in which so many people have pets.
So read the ingredients of the products you buy. Put food away from your pets when you leave your home. Research what is safe for your pet to eat before you give them a treat. I know I am upset about what happened to my dog, but it is because I care. So I ask the companies that use xylitol and other ingredients harmful to our pets, please think about the risk that comes with your product, please think of the animals.
