LANCASTER, Pa. -- If you've got a pet around the house, you may feed them the same things you eat.
But the ingredients of some human food could possibly kill man's best friend, Lancaster television station WGAL reported.
Xylitol is one of those unusual chemicals you may find listed under ingredients on a food item and wonder what it is.
The potential hazard of Xylitol became known to Cindy Stahl and her family a few weeks ago, when their 9-month-old boxer, Lucy, started acting strange.
While trying to figure out what was wrong with her dog, Stahl noticed something else.
"I turned around and saw that there was pink gum wrappers laying across the floor that she had chewed up," Stahl said.
Stahl said she instinctively shoved the gum wrappers in her pocket and rushed the dog to the veterinarian.
Blood work and X-rays were ordered and it was believed that Lucy was in a sort of diabetic seizure.
"The brain needs sugar almost as much as it needs oxygen, and so basically her brain wasn't functioning normally so she would have seemed disoriented," said veterinarian Dr. Mark Kapolka.
Then Stahl remembered the gum wrappers.
As they looked over the ingredients of the gum, Xylitol was recognized by one of Kapolka's assistants.
A bulletin from the Veterinary Medical Association issued one year ago warns that Xylitol could cause life-threatening problems for dogs. Consumed in large quantities, Xylitol may produce a sudden drop in a dog's blood-sugar levels.
Based on the amount of gum that was missing, it seemed that Lucy had ingested a large quantity of Xylitol.
"We estimated that she had 20 pieces of the gum," Stahl said.
"To give you some perspective, if gum is exclusively sweetened with Xylitol, one or two pieces of chewing gun is enough to cause serious consequences for a 20-pound dog," Kapolka said.
Lucy weighs about 50 pounds.
If the Stahl's had waited another hour or two to get to their vet, Lucy may not have survived.
Xylitol looks and tastes just like sugar. It's being used in more and more sugar-free foods, but does not affect humans the way it affects dogs.
The gum that Lucy ate, Koolerz, is made by Hershey Foods.
Contacted by the station regarding the story, Hershey issued a statement encouraging "all pet owners to follow the advice of animal experts and to keep any sugar-free products out of the reach of their pets."
But Stahl would like to see more.
"We want labels to indicate that Xylitol is very harmful to canines," she said.
Veterinarians said there are many foods that humans eat that are toxic for dogs, such as chocolate and many kinds of nuts.
If you feel your dog has consumed something that may be toxic, call your veterinarian or you can call the National Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.
For more information, check out the American Veterinary Medical Association's Web site at avma.org.
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