ASHLAND CITY, TN (KULR) - A Tennessee dog owner wants everyone to know how deadly an artificial sweetener found in chewing gum can be for dogs.
Christy Figlio began noticing troubling signs for her three-year-old husky-mix, Canon.
She says he seemed perfectly healthy until Saturday night, when he suddenly stopped eating and started drinking a lot of water. They rushed him to the emergency vet who told them Canon's liver was failing because of an artificial sweetener called Xylitol.
According to veterinarian Dr. Eva Evans, the first signs you're gonna see usually are weakness, muscle tremors, inability to stand, and that progresses to seizures as their blood sugar keeps dropping lower and lower.
She says if a dog eats artificial sweetener, it's a race against the clock to save them.
After hours of treatment, Canon's liver sustained too much damage, and the dog died.
Now Figlio wants to warn others about the dangers of this ingredient, so other pet owners can be aware.
