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References: #ABC News 4
Charleston's sago plants pop up as a largely unknown risk to dogs
There's a bit of local buzz about the recent re-discovery about just how dangerous sago palms can be to pets.
Read more stories on this subject in our pets topic page.Originally native to Japan, they're common in our area and are sometimes eaten by dogs. ABC News 4 has a report about a local dog owner that was taken off guard and mystified as to why her lab was so ill; check out their report over here.
Within 12 hours your pet may begin include vomiting, having diarrhea or showing general weakness and appear bruised, have nose bleeds, or have blood in the stool.
There's also plenty of reports online about just how dangerous this plant can be to dogs.
For the record it's also toxic to people, it's just that dogs are more likely to ingest it.
18 Jul 2010 11:58 am.
The ASPCA has a searchable database of plants that are toxic to pets: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/
They also have a 24-hour emergency poison hotline that should be on every pet guardian's speed dial: 1-888-426-4435.
(Another little-known dog danger: raisins and grapes are also toxic to dogs.)
Seth
18 Jul 2010 5:58 pm.
Interesting stuff... A lot of landscapers use those palms...
Also, I found out in a potentially hard way last year that a lot of sugar free gum, including Stride, 5, Orbit and lots of others, are seriously poisonous to dogs.
The artificial sweetener, called xylitol, causes them to produce too much insulin, lowering their blood sugar level and causing shutdowns of vital organs.
2 pieces of gum is toxic to a 60 lb dog.
Mine ate a whole pack last year but completely lucked out to not die.
It did cost thousands of dollars in emergency vet bills though...
22 Jul 2010 5:57 pm.
i am a landscape architect, and throughout the years have come to realize that a substantial amount (if not the majority) of plants are toxic to dogs and/or humans. in addition to sago palms, oleander is a tremendously popular plant in our coastal areas--it's also one of the most poisonous plants in the world. a single leaf ingested by a child (or dog) could be lethal. so it won't hurt anything to brush up on your plant knowledge!
seth--good to know about sugar free gum. i'd never heard that but am an avid 'extra' chewer!
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