Warning- Potpourri poisoning.

[borzoimom]

This is posted with permission


"We have suffered a terrible, terrible tragedy last Wed. Two, beloved Cavaliers of mine, Haley and Zoe both ate potpourri from a decorative basket in my Living room.

Within hours, they were vomiting it, convulsing and going into total body rigidity and shock. We took them to the after hours clinic, they had no idea what it could be and wouldn't listen to me about them vomiting potpourri at home and how I had such concerns about the toxic effects of it. They treated symptoms.

We transferred them to our day vet. He also wouldn't listen to me about the potpourri theory. He said they had "strychnine" poisoning symptoms. I kept telling him that the potpourri was Made In India, sold by a company in California and sold at my local WalMart. My heart told me that it was the culprit of their condition.

They declined rapidly throughout the day and we transferred them back to the after hours clinic for a second night. At midnight, I made the agonizing decision to put them to sleep. Haley was in constant seizures that wouldn't stop, fluid was filling up in her lungs, body temp was dropping on both of them, Zoe was lying almost lifeless on the table, struggling with every breath she took. Every muscle was completely rigid, you couldn't even move her.

I have devoted the last couple of days (now that I can get out of bed and function) to researching my concerns with the potpourri and have since found out I was right....... .....there is a lab in England that has case studies on toxic potpourri from India!! The toxin....strychnine , which in it's commercial source, comes from a certain tree grown in India . I am completely heart broken over this.

Please be aware of the potential toxins in any and all stuff like this in our homes. I would've never guessed this could happen but when I saw them both "playing" in the potpourri and then after about two hours saw the symptoms of a poisoning, I just put two and two together. Hug your babies, Love them and always take lots of photos along the way...it helps later on, trust me.

Karen Cantner, Heartland Kennels, Evansville , Indiana USA

Permission to cross post - should be unedited and sent in it's entirety with her contact info. "

[rubyred]

Wow! That is so tragic. Terrible way to lose a beloved pet.

I try to be very careful of that type of stuff, but they are like 2 year olds, they can get into and out of something before you know it.

[borzoimom]

Originally Posted by rubyred

Wow! That is so tragic. Terrible way to lose a beloved pet.

I try to be very careful of that type of stuff, but they are like 2 year olds, they can get into and out of something before you know it.

I read that and my heart went cold. I have it in my house- granted on the fireplace mantel but still. ( I hate to tell you where it went after reading that..) Any guesses?

[rubyred]

Ha! I just made a mental note to go upstairs to the guest bedroom where I have a bowl of it. Yes, in the trash it will go!

[borzoimom]

Originally Posted by rubyred

Ha! I just made a mental note to go upstairs to the guest bedroom where I have a bowl of it. Yes, in the trash it will go!

YUP! Then I took the trash bag outside and made sure the container was shut tight..

[Aescleah]

ick that stuff makes my head stuffy and gives me a headache so than goodness i dont have it if i did i know argo would be in it no matter how high it was i swear that dog should have been born a cat. times like this makes me grateful i am very sensitive to chemicals and stinky smelly stuff

Ashley

[EmmaGirl]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Especially around the holidays when we have guests coming to stay and want to 'cosy' up the rooms. What a tragic occurance!

[borzoimom]

Originally Posted by EmmaGirl

Thank you so much for sharing this. Especially around the holidays when we have guests coming to stay and want to 'cosy' up the rooms. What a tragic occurance!

Isn't it frightening?

[alimel]

No potpourri in my house! I read about something similar years ago and vowed to never have it my house.

[AcesWild]

I thought about this as we were putting ornaments up Moxie was sniffing an ornament that contains potporri she didn't seem too impressed and went back to her bed. I put the ornament back in the box and have closed the lid for the night