u/Kabenck

Last night was my mistake. I know that. So please start there - I feel enough shame around this to last a lifetime.

I have two Portuguese Water Dogs - one eight and 54 pounds, one almost two and 40 pounds. Normally the older fella stays out and sleeps in bed with me while the baby is crated. Yesterday, I was going to bed kind of early and the baby had been crated all evening, so I left him out. We have done that a few times with no problems.

Well, sometime between midnight and 2:30 in the morning, they managed to drag down a box of snacks. They found Max Mallows, which are sugar free marshmallows with xylitol in them. I woke up to them playing and the bag torn open on the floor. They had eaten at least half of the marshmallows.

I immediately took them to the emergency vet (the nearest is about an hour away) and called ASPCA Animal Poison Control on the way. The vets induced vomiting, but didn’t find any signs of marshmallows. They did initial bloodwork, everything was normal.

They’re hospitalizing for at least 24 hours and doing comprehensive bloodwork at 12 and 24 hours again (so 5pm and 5am). I just called and both boys’ blood sugars have stayed stable since I left them around 6am and are awake and alert. The baby needed trazodone because he just wants to play.

I am so scared. I had to borrow $6,000 from my family overnight to get them this care. I know I need to be better prepared for an emergency, but I’m in a financial bind right now and did what I had to at 5am to keep them safe.

I don’t need medical advice. I’ll do whatever I have to do for my boys and figure it out. I just was looking for some support. Has anyone been there? Is it likely to see the liver damage at the 12 or 24 hour marks? I feel terrible that there was even xylitol in the house they could get to.

Will my boys make it through this? I won’t be able to live with myself if they don’t.

Last night was my mistake. I know that. So please start there - I feel enough shame around this to last a lifetime.

I have two male, neutered Portuguese Water Dogs - one eight and 54 pounds, one almost two and 40 pounds. Normally the older fella stays out and sleeps in bed with me while the baby is crated. Yesterday, I was going to bed kind of early and the baby had been crated all evening, so I left him out. We have done that a few times with no problems.

Well, sometime between midnight and 2:30 in the morning, they managed to drag down a box of snacks. They found Max Mallows, which are sugar free marshmallows with xylitol in them. I woke up to them playing and the bag torn open on the floor. They had eaten at least half of the marshmallows.

I immediately took them to the emergency vet (the nearest is about an hour away) and called ASPCA Animal Poison Control on the way. The vets induced vomiting, but didn’t find any signs of marshmallows. They did initial bloodwork, everything was normal.

They’re hospitalizing for at least 24 hours and doing comprehensive bloodwork at 12 and 24 hours again (so 5pm and 5am). I just called and both boys’ blood sugars have stayed stable since I left them around 6am and are awake and alert. The baby needed trazodone because he just wants to play.

I am so scared. I had to borrow $6,000 from my family overnight to get them this care. I know I need to be better prepared for an emergency, but I’m in a financial bind right now and did what I had to at 5am to keep them where they needed to be. I’ll do whatever I have to do for my boys and figure it out.

I just was looking for some support. Has anyone been there? Is it likely to see the liver damage at the 12 or 24 hour marks? I feel terrible that there was even xylitol in the house they could get to.

Will my boys make it through this? I won’t be able to live with myself if they don’t.