I don't know anything about this, but I received it as a forwarded email. Anyone know if this is true?
This is true: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp
>
> 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=2 0had 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 works) 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 operati ng 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 c ame 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 have known why.
>
> 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.