84 Saber Tails Winter 2016

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

might show no adverse signs after toxic plant ingestion at all.  However, there are a 

handful of plants that make sense to remove at any cost and should 

NEVER

 be al-

lowed in a yard where a dog lives.  One such plant common here in Texas is the sago 

palm.  If you have a sago palm, tear it out of the ground right now!  The palm itself 

contains a poison called cyacin, but it’s the seeds that are really deadly.  They look a 

lot like a pecan or almond in the shell only they’re bigger.  We removed one from the 

front yard when we moved into our house.  I spent weeks searching the ground for 

seed pods and found hundreds of them. 

A

ccording to an article published by “Veterinary Information Network News Service 

titled Sago Palm Poisoning Cases Increase, “a pet can die within hours of ingesting the plant.”  The death rate is an 

alarming 30% of ingestion cases with more pets dying prematurely due to acute liver damage from 

surviving the episode years before.  One veterinarian quoted in the article stated: “It’s amazing how 

many owners are unaware just how toxic the plants in their yard or house can be.  I saw a patient 

(dog) last year with acute liver failure 36 hours after the owner had been playing fetch with the 

patient using a sago palm seed instead of a ball.  He didn’t make it.  Very sad case.”

U

nfortunately, sago palms are increasingly available across the nation as they are a hardy variety 

and have been picked up for sale as potted plants at chain stores such as Home Depot, Lowes, 

Target and IKEA.  Be careful buying any small or ornamental palm 

trees as these are often sold under the generic name ‘PALM’ with no 

identifiable variety information.

Resources are widely available online to help you determine what plants are toxic and 

the potential outcome of ingestion.  

H

ere is a partial list of common back yard plants that are toxic :

• Allium - drooling, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, lethargy, jaundice, liver 

failure

• Aloe Vera – vomiting, depression, diarrhea, hypoglycemia, tremors, change in 

urine color

• American Mandrake – vomiting diarrhea, lethargy, panting, coma (rare), dermal 

redness & skin ulcers

• American Yew – tremors, difficulty breathing, vomiting, seizures, acute heart fail-

ure, sudden death

• Azalea/Rhododendron – vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, weakness, coma, hypo-

tenstion, loss of coordination, leg paralysis, acute heart failure, sudden death

• Caster Bean – contains RICIN, violent vomiting, bloody diarrhea, weakness, sali-

vation, trembling, incoordination - 

DO NOT HAVE THIS IN YOUR YARD!

• Crocus – thirst, difficulty swallowing, abdominal pain, vomiting, weakness, 

shock, respiratory failure

• Cyclamen - drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, cardiac ar-

rhthmia, seizures, death (in large doses)

• Foxglove – vomiting, bloody diarrhea, frequent urina-

tion, irregular/slow pulse, tremors, convulsions

• Hemlock – dilated pupils, staggering, slow pulse, irregu-

lar breathing, respiratory failure, death

• Jimson weed – weak pulse, rapid heart rate, dilated pupils, dry mouth, incoordina-

tion, convulsions, coma

• Larkspur - drooling, constipation, tremors, seizures, arrhythmia, paralysis, heart and 

lung failure, death

We grow vincas in the front yard 

and have never had a problem 

with the dogs eating them 

Cyclamen is very popu-

lar at Valentine’s Day

Caster Bean should NOT be in 

your yard

Milkweed is a common butterfly 

attractant

Yew berries look good, don’t eat them!

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