A dog has tragically lost its life after eating brownies that contained a form of sweetener that's toxic to dogs, according to her heartbroken owner.
Ruby, a Hungarian Vizsla, was pictured on life support after stealing brownies from the kitchen that happened to contain Xylitol, an artificial sweetener that can unfortunately cause liver failure in dogs. She fell ill 36 hours after eating the brownies in October of 2018, and deteriorated rapidly over the next week.
Owner Kate Chacksfield spent around £10,000 in a last-ditch attempt to save her pet's life, but Ruby died eight days after falling ill, and Chacksfield wants to use her memory to help raise awareness about the danger dogs can potentially be in after consuming food meant for people.
"We’ve had her since she was a puppy and I’m completely lost without her," reveals Chacksfield, who lives in London and works as a media and presentation coach. She says she was only using Xylitol because she wanted to curb her own sugar cravings.
"While I was out, Ruby managed to get into the container off the side in the kitchen and eaten [sic] a couple. She seemed fine at first and it wasn’t until a couple of days later she began being violently ill and I took her to the vets. I had no idea how serious eating natural sweeteners was for dogs, the photos of her on life support still make me cry."
Chacksfield says that Ruby had eaten brownies from the kitchen before and that she'd heard from her vet that dogs her size could handle chocolate in small amounts. But she knew something was wrong when Ruby collapsed after being sent home from the vets.
"Soon after she collapsed and we took her back as soon as possible – it was then they started treating her for rat poison because of her symptoms. We just thought she may have eaten some by mistake in the park or something – it never crossed my mind to mention the brownies."
Ruby was taken to the Royal Veterinary College in London as her condition rapidly worsened, but it was all in vain as the dog died of liver failure, as well as a suspected stroke. It was not until after Ruby had passed that vets thought to ask Chacksfield about the Xylitol, and the 51-year-old wants more dog owners to be aware of the dangers of the artificial sweetener.
"I had absolutely no idea Xylitol was harmful to dogs what so ever and I was heartbroken when they told me and I knew it was too late for Ruby. I really, really urge other dog owners to read up on the dangers of Xylitol in dogs and urgently take their pets to the vet if they accidentally consume it as it could be the difference between life and death."
Xylitol can be found in a range of confectionery items, including not only sugar-free gum and artificial sweeteners, but also in some baking mixes, peanut butter and chocolate.
