&n= bsp; To the dog owners I know, and people who may know a dog = owner....

http://www.s= nopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp<= /p>

Warning to all dog owners pass this on to everyone you = can Last Friday evening, I arrived home from work, fed Chloe, our 24 Lb = dachshund, just as I normally do. Ten minutes later I walked into the den = just in time to see her head inside the pocket of Katie's friend's purse. = She had a guilty look on her face so I looked closer and saw a small = package of sugar-free gum. It contained xylitol. I remembered that I had = recently read that sugar-free gum can be deadly for dogs so I jumped on = line and looked to see if xylitol was the ingredient. I found the first = website below and it was the one. Next, I called our vet. She said to = bring her in immediately. Unfortunately, it was still rush hour and it took = me almost 1/2 hour to get there. Meanwhile, since this was her first = case, our vet found another website to figure out the treatment. She = took Chloe and said they would induce her to vomit, give her a charcoal drink = to absorb the toxin (even though they don't think it work s) then = they would start an iv with dextrose. The xylitol causes dogs to secrete = insulin so their blood sugar drops very quickly. The second thing that = happens is liver failure. If that happens, even with aggressive treatment, it = can be difficult to save them. She told us she would call = us. Almost two hours later, the vet called and said that contents of her = stomach contained 2-3 gum wrappers and that her blood sugar had dropped = from 90 to 59 in 30 minutes. She wanted us to take Chloe to another = hospital that has a critical care unit operating around the clock. We picked her = up and took her there. They had us call the ASPCA poison control for a = case number and for a donation, their doctors would direct Chloe's = doctor on treatment. They would continue the iv, monitor her blood every = other hour and then in 2 days test her liver function. She ended up with a = central line in her jugular vein since the one in her leg collapsed, just = as our regular vet had feared. Chloe spent almost the entire weekend in the critical care hospital. = After her blood sugar was stabilized, she came home yesterday. They ran all = the tests again before they released her and so far, no sign of liver = damage. Had I not seen her head in the purse, she probably would have died = and we wouldn't even had known wh y. Three vets told me this weekend, that they were amazed that I even knew = about it since they are first learning about it too. Please tell = everyone you know about xylitol and dogs. It may save another = life.  <= /o:p>