Potpourri Warning: Poisonous to our Pets!

[Perseus]

During the holiday season, as well as year round, lots of people use potpourri in their houses.  I do.  I mean, I did, until I read this article.  I have since thrown mine away!

Permission to cross post is granted by Karen Cantner.

Karen Cantner, writes:
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

[GreyGhost]

Oh man. That is heartbreaking. Thankfully I have never been big on Potpourri. I always used pet friendly candles since they say regular candles can put toxins in the air and possible lead in the wicks. Although lead wicks have been banned in the US. I had no idea that the Potpourri had toxins and can't even imagine why.

http://www.epicureantable.com/articles/acandles.htm

This site says they are all the same. I disagree but thats just my opinion. I won't take chances. It does have some interesting information though.

http://www.candles.org/about_faq.html