So, as I’m working on revisions for SUMMONING THE NIGHT this past week, we had a little . . . incident in the Bennett family. I left the house one evening while the hubs was having dinner with his friend, Jay. My mission: to procure a spiky $1.99 ball for Pug #1. His favorite toy. The toy he can’t live without. (He’s destroyed about 50 of these toys over the years.) I was only gone 45 minutes. I returned, expecting to be greeted with joy, but instead found Pug #1 vomiting up every stinking piece of his dinner while Pug #2 looked on, aloof, from the couch. My first thought was, “What the $@&! did he get into now?” This was quickly followed by, “Awesome. Now I get to clean up dog vomit.”
You should understand that Pug #1 is the worst behaved of the Two Bad Pugs in my household, having consumed over the years: Christmas lights, wire, dental floss, dryer sheets, toilet paper, all four corners of my wooden coffee table, the gigantic rubber leg of a toy, and some *cough* other random things that I’m too embarrassed to tell you about. You might think, “Where was his owner when he was eating all of these things.” Flitting around the Caribbean? No, try just the next room over, or even RIGHT IN THE SAME ROOM WITH MY BACK TURNED FOR TEN SECONDS. These are not neglected dogs, believe me. They are pampered, spoiled beasts, rotten as sin and wicked as the devil himself.
The $1000 mistake. Did you know Xylitol is toxic to cats and dogs? Yeah, me either. Better check the gum in your purse.
So was I really all that surprised when I spotted the strange white balls in Pug #1′s vomit? Not really. One whiff of a strong, sweet artificial melon scent told me what he’d gotten into. Gum balls. That’s right—gum. What. The. Hell. Oh, yes—I’d forgotten a small plastic canister of Mentos Gum on a side table. I followed a trail of objects that Pug #1 had stolen from the table—including a staple remover and a stapler. Then, low and behold! Underneath a chair, I found the gum canister. The lid had been kindly re-closed (he’s talented) and one single piece of gum rattled inside.
It’s just gum, I thought. And I proceeded to count the number of pieces in the vomit. Yes, I DUG THROUGH DOG VOMIT. Give or take, he’d probably consumed and thrown up about 20 pieces of Melon-apple Mentos gum.
No need to panic, right? Probably not, but just in case, I googled it anyway. And guess what I found: gum that’s sweetened with Xylitol (a substance that’s being used in more and more gums and candies these days) is FREAKING TOXIC TO DOGS. Not just a tiny bit toxic, but so toxic that five pieces of xylitol gum have been reported to kill small dogs and cats in a matter of minutes.
Pugs are wee things, and mine ate 20 pieces.
I called the animal ER. It wasn’t the first time I’d called them for this particular dog. I should have them on speed dial. I hoped against hope that they’d tell me to just observe him, but they instead said, “Oh, God. Bring him in immediately!”
Long story short (let’s skip the hand-wringing and crying, shall we?), Pug #1 was rushed into the ER, detoxed, and stayed there overnight. But he would be okay, right? Well, they tested his liver, and some ALP reading that should have been 100 was 1500. Not good.
That meant a trip to his regular vet to retest the liver a couple days later. His numbers had fallen slightly, but were still ghastly high. Which now means medication for a month, then another retest.
It was damn fine gum, and I'd eat it again!
Meanwhile, $1000 later (yes, that’s right), Pug #1 hasn’t had a CLUE as to what he did wrong. He’s happy as lark, his usual high-octane self, playing and barking and living the high life. I’m hoping that’s a good sign, and that when I take him back next month, his test results will be normal. But I’ve learned that when it comes to pugs, nothing is normal or easy . . . or cheap. They are allergic to everything (no corn, wheat, or soy), shed like mammoths, can’t be left outside in the heat, and are prone to a bajillion horrific congenital disorders.
But, God help me, I’d do just about anything for the damned beastie. So stay tuned to find out if we’re out of the woods, or if I’m going to have to shell out thousands of dollars for a million additional tests & procedures to determine the underlying cause of Pug #1′s abnormal liver results.
I’ll tell you one thing. They’ll be no more sugar-free gum in the Bennett household. Just add that to the long list of things that will kill a small animal. I think I need a T-shirt for Pug #1 that says: “I’ve eaten raisins, chocolate, & toxic gum. What have YOU done today?”
Update: Regarding those elevated liver test results that scared the bejesus out of us? Well, I’m happy to report that one month later, his liver was back to normal. He lives to tell the tale!
