Saving Stella...Xylitol

[Belinda Stevens]

Some of you already know this but….

I’m going to try and be brief here. Stella the Wonder dog ate 5 pieces of gum over the Christmas vacation. No big deal right? Well, Xylitol is an ingredient in most sugarless gum now and it can kill your dog if it’s ingested. The new Ice Breakers, Ice Cubes made by the Hershey Co. has some of the highest levels of Xylitol out there. But, it is in all sorts of “sugarless” products. However, one of them, Wrigley’s new “5” gum does NOT contain Xylitol.

Stella had to spend 24 hours at the ER Vet on an IV drip, blood tests and to be monitored. She got to come home late Christmas Eve, which was a nice gift. What was not a nice gift was the almost $1200 bill that came with it and our continuing visits to the Vet that are still in the process. She is also on a medication to help protect her liver. Fortunately, we knew that Xylitol was dangerous to dogs (wish I had remembered to look at the package before I bought it) but when we discovered she has eaten the gum, panic set in. We found part of the wrapper, then rushed her in around 8 pm the day before Christmas Eve. If we had not noticed she had eaten the gum she would have surely died.

With all this happening I discovered how many people do not know about this and clearly from the stock response I received from the Hershey Co. this is not a concern for them to change their ingredient. I take full responsibility for this and beat myself up for it every moment. But, I think that companies that use this product should at the very least put warning labels on these products. What would be better yet is to stop using Xylitol all together. It is not a necessary ingredient!

I would greatly appreciate you forwarding this and letting everyone with pets know about this danger. If I can save you from making this mistake it will mine a bit easier to take.

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Here is a copy of the response from Hershey.

Thank you for contacting The Hershey Company. I am sorry to learn of your recent experience and the concern this has caused you.

Unfortunately, although our pets may enjoy the taste of confectionaries, consumption can affect the health of some animals.

Hershey's ICE BREAKERS Gum products are specially formulated to be sugar free. The primary sweetener used in the product is xylitol. Xylitol is a common sweetener used in many sugar free products. It occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables and is produced commercially from fibrous vegetation and hard wood trees such as birch. Like many food ingredients that are intended for consumption by humans, it can cause problems if it is consumed by animals or pets. Hershey encourages all pet owners to follow the advice of animal experts and to keep chewing gum, candy, macadamia nuts and any sugar free products out of the reach of their pets. Consumers can find more information about foods that can be hazardous to your pets by asking their veterinarian or by visiting www.aspca.org.

Again, we're sincerely sorry to learn of your pet’s illness and also appreciate that you took the time to contact us. Your comments have been shared with the appropriate personnel.

This email address is restricted for outgoing messages only. For that reason, please do not respond to this email as the inbox is not monitored.

We appreciate your loyalty as a consumer.
Ann Schreckengost
Consumer Representative - ref # 005863325A

[DonMarie and Picco]

Beware that xylitol is also an ingredient in some peanut butters.  ANY processed food product should be under suspicion.  These ingredients are not good for humans either, that goes for any processed food products!

I'm sorry to hear about Stella's ordeal.  I'm glad she made it though it alright. Thanks for sharing.

[Meg (Murphy's Mom)]

Thank you for passing this information on. I had no idea and I don't want to even buy a product that could be a possible danger.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Belinda, as I said in the post, I am so sorry that you and Stella went through this and I am glad that she is OK. All experiences have the ability to teach and just think of all the people that are now aware of this because of you & Stella. Hopefully, by your sharing this another dog will be saved. That is a great legacy from this terrible experiance. Happy New Year!

[Marianne *OZZY & ZOEY]

I am so happy to hear that Stella is doing better. I had a dog that ate something that she should not have eaten and the outcome was diffrent for me....I know what you have been through and again I am happy to hear your story has a happy ending.

[Mary, Scrappy, Sully and Olive]

So sorry to hear of your ordeal. I am always on the lookout here and have told my children to be very cautious with sugarless gum because of the ingredient. I have just recently started purchasing the "5" brand, but was not aware that it did not contain Xylitol....thank you for the info. If that company can do it, why not others?
I agree, a very cold response from Hershey's....expecially after what you must have been through with the emergency!
Hope Stella is doing much better and thank you for sharing your experience. It might help to bring to light the seriousness of these poor animals consuming a harmless looking piece of gum.....when all along the ingredient is not necessary to the product!