It sounds to me like its either something from way out in left field that wouldn't be suspected to be in pet treats to test for, or possibly something that is inert until consumed/digested by stomach acids. etc.
~600 dogs (by itself) (over the course of 3 years or since 2007 depending on the source) sounds like a huge number, but out of
. to
. dogs in the U.S. alone is less than .00001 or 1/1000th of 1%. I'm actually impressed that they could nail that few down to that one specific cause. I wasn't able to find statistics on how many dogs die each year from accidental poisoning in toto, but I did find that ~10,000 dogs & cats die
each year from ethylene glycol (antifreeze) exposure
alone which leads me to believe that, considering antifreeze didn't even make the top 10 lists (one of which is below) the total number is
conservatively in the hundreds of thousands to millions.
Quote:
The Humane Society of the U.S. estimates that up to 10,000 cats and dogs die each year from exposure to ethylene glycol containing antifreeze. One lick of this highly poisonous substance can be enough to cause irreversible kidney failure and death in a cat, and it doesn't take much more than that to have the same effect in a dog.
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Quote:
Top Ten List from Pet Poison Helpline. Items presented in order of frequency
1. Foods – specifically chocolate, xylitol, and grapes/raisins.
2. Insecticides – including sprays, bait stations, and spot on flea/tick treatments.
3. Mouse and rat poison – rodenticides.
4. NSAIDS human drugs – such as ibuprofen, naproxen.
5. Household cleaners – sprays, detergents, polishes.
6. Antidepressant human drugs – such as Prozac, Paxil, Celexa and Effexor.
7. Fertilizers – including bone meal, blood meal and iron-based products.
8. Acetaminophen human drugs – such as Tylenol and cough/cold medications.
9. Amphetamine human drugs – ADD/ADHD medications like Adderall and Concerta.
10. Veterinary pain relievers – specifically COX-2 inhibitors like Rimadyl, Dermaxx and Previcox.
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Doc