My Dog Swallowed a Flintstone Vitamin

[soocool]

My neighbor stopped by with her daughter and the girl dropped a Flintstone vitamin on the floor and of course my dog swallowed it immediately as it hit the floor.
She said, "Oh that''s ok my dog once swallowed one and he was ok." (he died from liver problems about 6 months later). I asked her to see the bottle and after 5 minutes she went home and got the bottle and guess what? Flinstone vitamins contain XYLITOL.

Well, we just got back from the vet and while there isn''t enough xylitol to do any permanent damage, my dog''s blood sugar dropped drastically (around 50). After one hour and some special food at the vet his blood sugar went up to 85.

Well that vet visit cost me $180.00 and could have cost my dog''s life. My neighbor just called to make sure everything was ok, but didn''t offer to pay the vet bill. Do you think she should have at least offered?

 

[*Danielle*]

I think she should have offered. How rude to not think of that?

I am glad your puppy is ok!

 

[packrat]

Oh no! I clicked on this thinking it was something funny like oh haha he swallowed this vitamin and now his poop is blue or something!

How awful-I had no idea that could happen. What''s Xylitol? Is it in a lot of things?

I''m so glad your dog is ok-how scary for you and the dog both! And YES, the neighbor should pay the bill! I can''t believe she didn''t even offer-that''s just rude.

 

[Burberrygirl]

I agree with the other posters. I''m sorry that happened, she definitely should have offered to pay.

 

[soocool]

I just read up on Xylitol on the computer and apparently it is extremely toxic to dogs even in small quanities. It is an artificial sweetrner used in many products like chewing gum. (I never thought it would be in vitamins) Apparently it metabolizes quickly in dogs and causes a rapid and severe drop in blood glucose levels in a matter of 30-60 minutes which can lead to shock and death. It can even cause liver problems and eventual death.

The source even stated that many people are unaware of xylitol''s toxicity in dogs. Dentists love this sweetner because it helps prevents cavities so that is why it is found in so many brands to chewing gum.

 

[deegee]

Wow - I had no idea. My pooch grabs anything that''s dropped on the floor. We have pried so many things out of her mouth, but we don''t get to everything in time.

I definitely think your neighbor should have offered to pay for the vet visit. It was an accident, but I''d still feel obligated to pay.

 

[ckrickett]

she definitely should have offered to pay. If it was my pet I don''t think I would have taken the money but an offer would have been appropriate (and expected).

 

[Camille]

I wouldn''t take the money if it was offered because it was a child''s accident. BUT I agree, an offer [half $] would have been so nice.
Glad to hear your dog is ok

 

[lyra]

I''ve never heard of this issue before, thanks so much for posting about xylitol! My dogs would have done the same thing, but I imagine it could have easily been fatal to my chihuahua because of her size. I just had no idea!

I don''t have an opinion about the money issue. Half would have been nice, but as I said, I wouldn''t have even known to take the dog to the vet. Glad the outcome was okay for your dog!

 

[kiett98]

I''m glad your doggie is okay! I definitely think she should have offered to pay... accident or not, it was her child''s fault. And what about her assurance that all would be okay? I would mention the vet bill to her again.

 

[Bia]

How scary - I had no idea vitamins could be so harmful to dogs (good to know!). I'm glad your dog is okay now...

I don't necessarily think she did anything wrong by not offering to pay the vet bill - yes an offer would have been very nice (I def would have had this been me) but I don't know that it was her responsibility. The fact that she called to see that everything was okay was nice of her. Her little girl didn't purposely drop her vitamin, nor did she feed it to your pup. It wasn't anyone's fault. It was an accident. Just like you can't blame your dog for gobbling up something that fell to the floor - dogs need to be trained not to do that.

 

[soocool]

Date: 9/9/2009 9:42:57 AM
Author: Bia
How scary - I had no idea vitamins could be so harmful to dogs (good to know!). I''m glad your dog is okay now...

I don''t necessarily think she did anything wrong by not offering to pay the vet bill - yes an offer would have been very nice (I def would have had this been me) but I don''t know that it was her responsibility. The fact that she called to see that everything was okay was nice of her. Her little girl didn''t purposely drop her vitamin, nor did she feed it to your pup. I don''t know that it was anyone''s fault. It was an accident. Just like you can''t blame your dog for gobbling up something that fell to the floor - dogs need to be trained not to do that.

Bia, actually it wasn''t the vitamin that was harmful, but the Xylitol it contained (artificial sweetener). I never ever would have thought that children''s vitamins would contain this. I am just glad that I asked to look at the label. When I called the vet, I was more worried about the vitamins because Xylitol was way down on the list of ingredients, but I guess when you have a small dog it can do harm if you don''t act quickly.

As additional info, if this ever happens to your dog, if you can''t induce vomiting in time, rub their gums with Karo syrup and rush to a vet or emergency vet. The Karo syrup will help keep the glucose levels up until you can get to the vet. Xylitol can cause a drop in blood sugar within 30 - 60 minutes and your dog can go into shock and there is a possibility they may never recover. It took about 30 minutes for my dog''s glucose to drop to 50 and we got to the vet just in time.

I am going to CVS to buy some syrup of ipecac and a bottle of Karo syrup to keep on hand.

 

[Bia]

Date: 9/9/2009 9:51:59 AM
Author: soocool
Bia, actually it wasn''t the vitamin that was harmful, but the Xylitol it contained (artificial sweetener). I never ever would have thought that children''s vitamins would contain this. I am just glad that I asked to look at the label. When I called the vet, I was more worried about the vitamins because Xylitol was way down on the list of ingredients, but I guess when you have a small dog it can do harm if you don''t act quickly.

As additional info, if this ever happens to your dog, if you can''t induce vomiting in time, rub their gums with Karo syrup and rush to a vet or emergency vet. The Karo syrup will help keep the glucose levels up until you can get to the vet. Xylitol can cause a drop in blood sugar within 30 - 60 minutes and your dog can go into shock and there is a possibility they may never recover. It took about 30 minutes for my dog''s glucose to drop to 50 and we got to the vet just in time.

I am going to CVS to buy some syrup of ipecac and a bottle of Karo syrup to keep on hand.

Thanks for this information! I would have never imagined a flinstone vitamin had so much artifical sweetner in it that it could harm my dog. This is very helpful because I do happen to have a small dog - had this happened to me, my dog could have been seriously harmed. I also didn''t know you could induce vomiting with dogs using ipecac. I''m going to pick some up just incase. Thank you!!!!

 

[princesss]

I''m with Bia on this one. It was an accident, and while it would be kind to offer to pick up the bill, it''s hardly necessary. Part of what you sign up for as a pet owner is unexpected vet bills. It''s not like the little girl sat there feeding the vitamin to your dog - she dropped it on accident. You can''t blame a kid for dropping things, and you can''t blame a dog for eating things that fall on the floor.

So no, I don''t think she should have offered, but it certainly would have been a nice gesture.

 

[onvacation]

Date: 9/9/2009 9:57:58 AM
Author: Bia

Date: 9/9/2009 9:51:59 AM
Author: soocool
Bia, actually it wasn''t the vitamin that was harmful, but the Xylitol it contained (artificial sweetener). I never ever would have thought that children''s vitamins would contain this. I am just glad that I asked to look at the label. When I called the vet, I was more worried about the vitamins because Xylitol was way down on the list of ingredients, but I guess when you have a small dog it can do harm if you don''t act quickly.

As additional info, if this ever happens to your dog, if you can''t induce vomiting in time, rub their gums with Karo syrup and rush to a vet or emergency vet. The Karo syrup will help keep the glucose levels up until you can get to the vet. Xylitol can cause a drop in blood sugar within 30 - 60 minutes and your dog can go into shock and there is a possibility they may never recover. It took about 30 minutes for my dog''s glucose to drop to 50 and we got to the vet just in time.

I am going to CVS to buy some syrup of ipecac and a bottle of Karo syrup to keep on hand.

Thanks for this information! I would have never imagined a flinstone vitamin had so much artifical sweetner in it that it could harm my dog. This is very helpful because I do happen to have a small dog - had this happened to me, my dog could have been seriously harmed. I also didn''t know you could induce vomiting with dogs using ipecac. I''m going to pick some up just incase. Thank you!!!!

I also agree with Bia and princess. If the dog had been your child or husband, I don''t think I would expect them to foot the bill? Although an offer to pay for half would have been a nice gesture, since fault can be found in both parties (if we were to get down to the nitty gritty). In any case, I would be upset too if that happened to my dog! I hope your pup is feeling better now.

soocool, to the best of my knowledge, xylitol is a natural sweetner found in tree sap and veggies. It''s supposed to help prevent tooth decay and has less calories than sugar/HFCS. Why wouldn''t they use xylitol in children''s vitamins?

 

[kenny]

Yes, I think she should have offered to pay AND when she didn't YOU should have asked her to pay.
You need to speak up for yourself or else you are going to walk around angry for the rest of your life.

This is one of my pet peeves.
Parents/society teach children to be nice but not where to draw the line.
Nice gets twisted into letting people walk all over you.
So now we have all these nice-appearing, but angry, adults complaining to people who can't do anything to solve the problem.

There are times when it is appropriate to speak up for yourself and IMHO this is one of them.

I recommend you call her back now and ask her to pay.
I'd be very polite but clear.

 

[Bia]

Date: 9/9/2009 1:20:30 PM
Author: kenny
Yes, I think she should have offered to pay AND when she didn''t YOU should have asked her to pay.
You need to speak up for yourself or else you are going to walk around angry for the rest of your life.

This is one of my pet peeves.
Parents/society teach children to be nice but nice gets twisted into letting people walk all over you.
So now we have all these nice-appearing, but angry, adults complaining to people who can''t do anything to solve the problem.

There are times when it is appropriate to speak up for yourself and IMHO this is one of them.

I recommend you call her back now and ask her to pay.
I''d be very polite but clear.

You''ve got to be kidding. If her little girl picked up a piece of something off of soocool''s floor, which made her sick, do you honestly believe that soocool would be responsible for that child''s doctor''s visit? No. The dog''s vet bill should be paid by the owner (that''s part of owning a pet, as princesss said). Yea, an offer, that''s all nice and whatever, but certainly NOT necessary.

And by not asking, she is not allowing anyone to walk all over her. It''s not her neighbor''s responsibility. Period.

 

[kenny]

Date: 9/9/2009 1:33:44 PM
Author: Bia

Date: 9/9/2009 1:20:30 PM

Author: kenny

Yes, I think she should have offered to pay AND when she didn't YOU should have asked her to pay.

You need to speak up for yourself or else you are going to walk around angry for the rest of your life.


This is one of my pet peeves.

Parents/society teach children to be nice but nice gets twisted into letting people walk all over you.

So now we have all these nice-appearing, but angry, adults complaining to people who can't do anything to solve the problem.


There are times when it is appropriate to speak up for yourself and IMHO this is one of them.


I recommend you call her back now and ask her to pay.

I'd be very polite but clear.

You've got to be kidding. If her little girl picked up a piece of something off of soocool's floor, which made her sick, do you honestly believe that soocool would be responsible for that child's doctor's visit? No. The dog's vet bill should be paid by the owner (that's part of owning a pet, as princesss said). Yea, an offer, that's all nice and whatever, but certainly NOT necessary.


And by not asking, she is not allowing anyone to walk all over her. It's not her neighbor's responsibility. Period.

The woman's daughter dropped the vitamin that resulted in the $180 vet bill.
That mother should pay.

Each of us should take responsibility for what we, or our children, do.

 

[Mara]

ugh, sorry that you had to deal with the stress and the vet visit, i am so glad you followed up and checked the label! it is freaky what can affect our pets negatively. i was reading a pamphlet from the vet this wkd about items that are poisonous to your dog, and it had some really random common household things like advil... i had no idea it was so toxic to dogs!

i'm going against the trend to say that i don't think that the neighbor should have to pay for the vet visit. obviously she was unaware of the implications of the vitamin, but if something is dropped on the floor, our dog doesn't automatically eat it. she waits for a command to allow her to. i'd feel like i was responsible if my dog ate something off the floor, even if someone else dropped it. it would have been nice for an offer though. hope the pup is back up to snuff very soon!

 

[princesss]

Date: 9/9/2009 1:38:58 PM
Author: Mara
ugh, sorry that you had to deal with the stress and the vet visit, i am so glad you followed up and checked the label! it is freaky what can affect our pets negatively. i was reading a pamphlet from the vet this wkd about items that are poisonous to your dog, and it had some really random common household things like advil... i had no idea it was so toxic to dogs!

i''m going against the trend to say that i don''t think that the neighbor should have to pay for the vet visit. obviously she was unaware of the implications of the vitamin, but if something is dropped on the floor, our dog doesn''t automatically eat it. she waits for a command to allow her to. i''d feel like i was responsible if my dog ate something off the floor, even if someone else dropped it. it would have been nice for an offer though. hope the pup is back up to snuff very soon!

I had no idea, either!

Thanks for the heads up, I''ll be sure to put that on the high shelf at home.

 

[CJ2008]

If I went to someone''s house and my kid dropped something on the floor that ended up causing a $180 vet bill, I would feel obligated to offer to pay at least half the bill, accident or not.

I would expect the same in return...and it would annoy me if the neighbor didn''t at least say - "look, I know it was an accident, but it still cost you $180. Could we help you pay the bill?"

The vitamin was dropped on the floor because they brought it...

I''m so glad your dog''s going to be OK.

 

[soocool]

It is nice to hear everyone''s feedback as to whether my neighbor should have offered to pay the vet bill. I truly did not expect her to offer and I woudn''t even think of asking her, but this morning when she called again she said, "Boy that must have been some vet bill!" and I replied that it certainly wasn''t an expected expense, but what was I to do. Her reply was, "well if you had listened to me when I said nothing bad was going to happen, you wouldn''t be out the money."

A little background on this neighbor:

About 5 years ago their well pump went and she was frantic trying to find someone to fix it. It was wintertime and the ground was saturated. She found someone who was willing to drive through her lawn to her backyard to fix her well pump. Well, long story, extremely short, the well company drove over my lawn and when they finished fixing the neighbor''s well pump and were trying to leave got stuck in the snow and mud. Tore up my lawn and broke several underground sprinkler heads and pipes. Total cost of repair was $4000.00. The well company wasn''t willing to drive the long way around their house, but she approved them driving through my lawn and destroy my property without our knowledge or permission.

In the end it was her word against the well company. The well company, after my contacting the police, paid for the damage - it took over 6 months. My neighbors didn''t offer to pay a cent or even offer to testify in case it went to court. What they got out of it-- the well company didn''t charge them for fixing their well pump. So now who made out in the end.

What really made my day was my other neighbor found out from her what had happened and had a few choice words for her and now they are not speaking. It seems that she has some prior experiences with this neighbor as well.

 

[princesss]

Man, she sounds like a peach.

 

[Mara]

boy she sounds like a charmer.

 

[MagsyMay]

Yikes!!

Now it all makes a bit more sense! My original feeling was that it was an accident (and the child''s accident nonetheless), and that it wouldn''t be appropriate to expect her to pay the vet bill. I would expect someone to at least offer, but probably wouldn''t accept the money myself. Now with that bit of background and her comment to you about the vet bill, sheesh, I might be inclined to ask!!

Sorry you have to put up with such an inconsiderate neighbor but I''m so glad your pup is okay!!

 

[CJ2008]

Date: 9/9/2009 1:54:45 PM
Author: soocool
It is nice to hear everyone''s feedback as to whether my neighbor should have offered to pay the vet bill. I truly did not expect her to offer and I woudn''t even think of asking her, but this morning when she called again she said, ''Boy that must have been some vet bill!'' and I replied that it certainly wasn''t an expected expense, but what was I to do. Her reply was, ''well if you had listened to me when I said nothing bad was going to happen, you wouldn''t be out the money.''

A little background on this neighbor:

About 5 years ago their well pump went and she was frantic trying to find someone to fix it. It was wintertime and the ground was saturated. She found someone who was willing to drive through her lawn to her backyard to fix her well pump. Well, long story, extremely short, the well company drove over my lawn and when they finished fixing the neighbor''s well pump and were trying to leave got stuck in the snow and mud. Tore up my lawn and broke several underground sprinkler heads and pipes. Total cost of repair was $4000.00. The well company wasn''t willing to drive the long way around their house, but she approved them driving through my lawn and destroy my property without our knowledge or permission.

In the end it was her word against the well company. The well company, after my contacting the police, paid for the damage - it took over 6 months. My neighbors didn''t offer to pay a cent or even offer to testify in case it went to court. What they got out of it-- the well company didn''t charge them for fixing their well pump. So now who made out in the end.

What really made my day was my other neighbor found out from her what had happened and had a few choice words for her and now they are not speaking. It seems that she has some prior experiences with this neighbor as well.

After I read this, I thought to myself "why is she even IN your house?"

Then again, I have a low tolerance for people to begin with...that whole well incident would have been enough for me to deeply dislike her, or at least lose any interest in seeing her other than as we pass each other...

And I think it was extremely rude of her to tell you that if you had listened, you wouldn''t be out the $.

 

[kenny]

I am astonished that you still associate with this woman.

 

[CJ2008]

kenny, you and I think alike.

 

[CJ2008]

Date: 9/9/2009 1:54:45 PM
Author: soocool
It is nice to hear everyone''s feedback as to whether my neighbor should have offered to pay the vet bill. I truly did not expect her to offer and I woudn''t even think of asking her, but this morning when she called again she said, ''Boy that must have been some vet bill!'' and I replied that it certainly wasn''t an expected expense, but what was I to do. Her reply was, ''well if you had listened to me when I said nothing bad was going to happen, you wouldn''t be out the money.''

A little background on this neighbor:

About 5 years ago their well pump went and she was frantic trying to find someone to fix it. It was wintertime and the ground was saturated. She found someone who was willing to drive through her lawn to her backyard to fix her well pump. Well, long story, extremely short, the well company drove over my lawn and when they finished fixing the neighbor''s well pump and were trying to leave got stuck in the snow and mud. Tore up my lawn and broke several underground sprinkler heads and pipes. Total cost of repair was $4000.00. The well company wasn''t willing to drive the long way around their house, but she approved them driving through my lawn and destroy my property without our knowledge or permission.

In the end it was her word against the well company. The well company, after my contacting the police, paid for the damage - it took over 6 months. My neighbors didn''t offer to pay a cent or even offer to testify in case it went to court. What they got out of it-- the well company didn''t charge them for fixing their well pump. So now who made out in the end.

What really made my day was my other neighbor found out from her what had happened and had a few choice words for her and now they are not speaking. It seems that she has some prior experiences with this neighbor as well.

So is this why you posted the original question as to whether we thought she should offer to pay the bill or not? Originally you weren''t expecting the offer, but after she said that, it got you mad, or thinking that she should offer to pay?

 

[lyra]

OMG, her response about the vet bill is just unbelievable!!

Honestly, after the well incident and this new one, I too wonder how you can have her in your home and be civil. Good for you for being the better person, although I''d say the buck stops here. No more freebies for this woman! What nerve she has.