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Pet Poison Prevention

Posted by SusanStokes on March 15, 2023

The toxicology experts at Pet Poison Helpline analyzed five years of proprietary call data and are releasing the next iteration an online tool designed to help consumers and veterinary professionals research dangerous and potentially deadly toxins in their area.

As expected, the number one reported toxin in every state and province for dogs is chocolate. After chocolate, however, various regional differences emerge. In a number of states such as Texas and North Dakota, the artificial sweetener Xylitol is the second-most common toxin call for dogs. For birds in California, the wood preservative copper naphthenate was the most common call over the last five years, followed by avocados. In many states, lily poisoning was the most common call regarding cats.

"Some of the items included in the Top 20 toxins for each state are pretty obvious, such as chocolate and rat poison, but unusual dangers such as wood preservatives and even avocados rank high in some states for different species," said Dr. Renee Schmid, a senior veterinary toxicologist at Pet Poison Helpline.

Pet Poison Helpline plans to release future iterations of the Toxin Trends dashboard that will highlight additional insights gleaned from the company's database of emergency calls. The goal of sharing this exclusive data is to save pets' lives and make the world safer for animals. 

About Pet Poison Helpline
Pet Poison Helpline is a trusted source for toxicology and pet health advice in times of potential emergency, and is available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals who require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. They are an independent, nationally recognized animal poison control center triple licensed by the Boards of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine and Pharmacy providing unmatched professional leadership and expertise. Their veterinarians and board-certified toxicologists provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species.

Find the online tool here: Toxin Trends 

Source: Pet Poison Helpline Press Release