Josie has eaten some lantana leaves. She is not exhibiting severe symptoms but is not interest in food and has had some diarrhea. Is there action I should take before we can see the vet.

Hello Thank you for your questions. Lantana leaves can be toxic to the liver, so her inappetence may be related to that. I recommend that you take her to a veterinarian as soon as possible. There is not really anything that you can do at home. Good luck.

My 3 year old lab starting having seizures in March, 2018 (age 2.75). He was put on Keppra, 750 mg., bid after his second seizure. Blood work was negative for “poisoning”. We have both Sago Palm and Lantana. He had normal liver function on blood work. He was sent to a neurology Vet who doubled the Keppra dose to 3000 mg. q.d. About 6 wks later, he started vomiting and had bloody diarrhea and would not eat anything. He had an abdominal X-ray which showed acute gastritis. He was hospitalized for two days-got IV Flagyl and Amoxicillin. He almost died but recovered fully. Three Vets said this could be due to toxicity from the high dose Keppra, but the neurologist states it is not even remotely possible. We cut back the Keppra to 750 bid. He has had no other Gi symptoms but continues seizures about every three weeks. The neuro Vet prescribed phenobarbital, but we don’t want to give it due to possible liver damage. Is it possible this could be the lantana? Would poisoning from this show up on blood work? They assured me this would not be poisoning from Sago, but we didn’t discuss Lantana. He loves to eat nut grass around the plants as does our other lab. She has never been sick. I’ll mention that his brother (litter mate) had PRAA at birth-not a really healthy litter. Thank you so much for any advice you can give me. I plan to take him to TAMU for a work-up when we can afford it.

Lantana poisoning may also result in liver failure but is less common (more common with livestock) and is not as toxic as sago palm; small quantities of Lantana may cause gastritis. I cannot say what the cause of the gastrointestinal symptoms were but generally Keppra (levetiracetam) side effects result in lethargy than anything else. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/lantana/ www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&catId=102894&id=4952949

Out rottie has been eating lantana for over a year now. No sign of reaction. Was just informed that lantana is poisonous to dogs. What should we do? Should we remove the lantana or leave it there? We have a dozen plants without berries.

Thank you for your email. You are probably quite fortunate that you haven't had any problems with the Lantana plant so far. Lantana can be highly toxic to dogs, even fatal. It would be best to immediately block the plant so that Sydney can't access it.

My brother puppy sat my dogs and he has lantanas and since I picked them up they are both sick. I am scared I don't have money to take them to vet what do I do one is 7mnths and the other is 3 years old.

If lantana poisoning is suspected, then it would be advisable to visit your Veterinarian regardless of cost so that they can receive fluids and supportive care; lantana poisoning can cause liver failure so should be taken seriously. There is no direct cure for this, but continued supportive and symptomatic care in important; liver support with Denamarin may help too. If you have difficulty with the cost of Veterinary care, check the link below. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/lantana/ www.aaha.org/pet_owner/lifestyle/cant-afford-critical-veterinary-care-many-nonprofits-can-help!.aspx