I was so surprised when this information first came to me. I have two Sago Palms in my front yard. Now I find out that the Sago Palm is deadly to dogs and children. Luckily, my dogs never go into the front yard unless they are on leash or in their exercise pen.
My wife loves the Sago Palm. She actually wanted more around the house but I resisted simply because they are so difficult to prune.
The Sago Palm is poisonous to both animals and humans. All parts of the plant can do harm. The Sago Palm seeds are the most
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hazardous since they contain the largest amount of the toxin Cycasin. Apparently it is a treat for dogs. They will chew on other parts of the plant as well.
Symptoms include vomiting, weakness, seizures, diarrhea, and liver failure. The most serious complication is liver failure in addition to neurological problems. This is the biggest hazard. If you have this plant or plants please locate them away from your animals. There’s no reason to take the chance of losing your pets.
Unfortunately there are no warning labels on the pot when you purchase your Sago Palm. Just remember to keep the pets and kids away from the plant at all times.
Here’s a short video from a vet talking about this serious problem. I say serious because not many know about the danger.
In researching this post I found so many sad stories of pets passing on from liver failure caused by the Sago Palm. This plant takes no prisoners so take care of your special pet friends by keeping them away from this deadly plant. If you have a Sago Palm in your yard always remember that it is deadly to dogs and children.
Here is a number for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888) 426-4435. A $65 consultation fee may be applied to your credit card.
About The Author
Bill Beavers, brings you pet products that provide improved Quality of Life for You, Your Family and Your Pets.
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2 Responses to “Sago Palms | Deadly for Dogs and Children”
Thank you for this valuable post, I was not aware of this deadly plant.
My two puppies got into a sago palm and had to be hospitalized. One Friday afternoon about 1:00 we were getting rid of a sago palm and our two Shih Tzu – maltase 4 month old puppies got a hold of the plant (for a very short time) and were chewing on it. Within about 2 hours they were both throwing up. I looked it up on line and saw that it is one of the most poison plants a dog/cat/horse/bird + other types of animals can ingest.
We rushed them to the vet and within 4 hours of ingesting it they were put on IV’s and given toxiban (Activated Charcoal), Ondansetron injection (blocks the actions of chemicals in the body that can trigger nausea and vomiting), Famotidine (generic Pepcid AC, a histamine-2 blocker that works by decreasing the amount of acid the stomach produces), a superchem/cbc (blood test: a comprehensive blood chemistry panel that provides a good overview of many of the body’s functions; in this particular case: liver, pancreas and kidneys).
This becomes a “wait and see” as the poison can take up to 48 – 72 to travel through the system. The superchem/cbc is the first test and the same test is done 72 hours later if you are lucky enough to get this far.
They were kept in separate cages next to each other but could not see each other so they didn’t get excited and tangle their IV’s.
The first night the female chewed through her IV so it had to be put back in.
We visited them twice Saturday and Sunday they were closed but doctors checked on them several times that day. We arrived 8:00 am Monday morning. We found them in the same cage, just bathed and excited to see us!
We had so many people praying for them and it worked so far. We were able to take them home and they are back to their cute little puppy selves. They went home with Sucralfate to coat their stomach once a day and Denamarin once a day on an empty stomach; a supplement for dogs and cats containing S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) and silybin (milk thistle).
They were also put on a liver sensitive diet while in the hospital along with water even though they were on IV’s. They gave us some of the food to take home and combine with their normal food (we give them Orijen).
They are back to their normal puppy behavior. Now we are just waiting for the test results to see if there is any liver, kidney and/or pancreas damage. If there is, we have to re-evaluate the meds they take. We also have to do another blood work up in 3 weeks as this poison is slow moving.
So far the cost has been about $1400.00 and worth every penny!!!