Pointers On Protecting Your Pets From Poisoning (NAPSA)—Bybeingalert to the danger, you may be able to keep your precious pets from poisoning themselves. The Problem Pet owners often joke about pets being like vacuum cleaners—literally eating anything putin front of them. Unfortunately, that lack ofdietary discretion too often results in pets ingesting toxic substances, emergencyvisits to the veterinarian and large medicalbills. The Top Troublemakers The nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance has analyzed its database of nearly half a million pets to find the sources behind the thousands of poisoning claims it receives each year. Here is a ranking of the 18 most-commonpet poisoning claims Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) sees: 1. Accidental ingestion of medications (pet or human drugs) 2. Rodenticide (mouseandrat poison) 3. Methylxanthinetoxicity (chocolate and caffeine) 4. Plant poisoning 5. Household chemical 6. Metaldehyde (snail and slug poison) 7. Insecticide 8. Heavy metal toxicity (ead andzinc) 9. Toad poisoning 10. Antifreeze poisoning 11. Walnut poisoning 12. Alcohol toxicity 13. Strychnine. Accidental ingestion of pet or human medications is the most common type of poisoning. The Baxter the Pomeranian is healthy now, but he had a closecall after lapping up a spilled beer. most expensive type of poisoning, heavy metal poisoning, can cost more than $1,000 to treat. What To Look For It helps if pet ownersare alert to signs of trouble. “Depending on what substance the pet has ingested and the amount, the reaction can be sudden, with the animal exhibiting alarming symptoms such as stag- gering, vomiting, drooling, seizures andeven loss of consciousness,” said veterinarian Carol McConnell. “We recommend that pet owners be aware of which items around their homes can be harmful to their pets—medications, insect poisons, chocolate and certain nuts—and keep these items safely out of reach.” An Example Consider the case of Patricia Reinhold of North Las Vegas, Nev. She spent nearly $500 at her veterinarian’s office after her Pome- ranian Baxter managed to sip up a spilled beer. She knew something was wrong when Baxter began to stumble and fall over. “Most people might not worry about this, or think it was funny, but I wasn’t about to take a chance with Baxter,” said Reinhold. “We took him to the vet, who put him on an IV and flushed his kidneys to get the alcohol out of his system. He recovered, but a couple weeks later we had to take him in for a precautionary liver test to make sure that he hadall his enzymes and liver function.” Reinhold’s quick thinking highlights the importance of preparation in the event of a pet emergency. Pet owners should keep the phone numberof their pets’ regular veterinarian and a numberfor an emergency veterinary hospital handyat all times and have financial plan for handling unexpected pet expenses. “Tm the kind of person who wouldn’t hesitate to spend $10,000 on mypets,” said Reinhold. “So for me, having pet insurance isn’t about never having to pay for my pets’ veterinary bills or saving money but getting help with the things I know I will haveto payfor, and I like knowing that help is there. Because you can guarantee that with a dog like Baxter, I haven’t seen the endofit.” Learn More For more information about pet poisoning prevention and poisoning first aid, visit the Pet Poison Helpline at www.petpoisonhelp line.com. For more information about pet health insurance, visit www.petinsurance.com.
