Max ate Belladonna

We're lucky to even have Max with us!

Today, he was absolutely insane. Twice, he got away from me while I was taking him out. I was using both arms to try to hold onto him, and he nearly broke my arm both times, getting away. I had to go catch him, and he wouldn't come. That's totally unlike him. When I looked into his eyes it was like he wasn't even seeing me. He was insane. I was in tears.

When my husband got home he found Belladonna growing in the kennel area. We think he must have eaten some, because he was absolutely not himself at all.

Thank God he didn't eat too much. He's OK now and we pulled the weeds out.

Oh, how scary! I'm glad he's okay now.

Did you take him to the vet? I mean, I'm no expert, but there could still be some in his body.

Good thing you found the cause though - it would have been even worse to not know what it was.

*hugs* for Max. ^_^

I've never even heard of Belladonna so I thought it was an animal!! What is it?

I thought it was an animal too! :o

What is it???

Thank goodness you figured out what it was. Hope Max is OK.

And THIS is Belladonna

Eek!! :-\ Glad Max is doing okay. What a scare!

Never heard of belladonna, only in the song by Fleetwood Mac! I too thought he ate some kind of little animal! Glad he is okay.

Poor Max! I hope he's really alright now. I would watch him closely today. I thought it was an animal, too. Couldn't remember the names of the Chi's there :P

Scared me to death (I thought it was an animal too:rolleyes: )! Still, how terrible to find out your boy has eaten a poisionous plant:(
I'm glad to hear he's feeling better now and you've gotten rid of all that stuff.

{{{HUGS}}} for Max!

Oh my gosh!!! How frightening! I'm so fearful of toxic plants growing in the yard. Hope he's all better now! Maybe a call to the vet would be a good idea, just to be sure:) Hugs to you and Max!

I hope Max is alright,
I agree with others and I would call the
vet just to be on the safe side.

How scary!! At least you figured it out though. It's even scarier to think what might have happened if you didn't figure it out and he ate more! :eek: :(

Wow... Belladonna... you don't hear about that too often these days. I'm glad the big guy is ok, that had to be so scary!

An FYI for anyone who doesn't know what Belladonna is: it's a plant that used to be used back in the 20's and even earlier as a drug. I believe it could be a halucenagenic. If you ever watch a silent film from back then, the actors' eyes are usually very large, pupils HUGE... they used to take minimal amounts of Belladonna to enhance this look.

EEEK! I'm glad Max is okay. :( Don't scary mommy like that. *wags stern finger at Max*

We've had this growing in our garden before. Every year I pull up some, but I never saw it in the dog kennel.

Max is OK now. So many hours had passed by the time we figured out what had happened, a visit to the vet would have been useless. It would have been too late to pump his stomach, and he was running around and not having any breathing problems.

Here's what I found:

belladonna


(bĕldŏn´) or deadly nightshade, poisonous perennial plant, Atropa belladona, of the nightshade family. Native to Europe and now grown in the United States, the plant has reddish, bell-shaped flowers and shiny black berries. Extracts of its leaves and fleshy roots act to dilate the pupils of the eye and were once used cosmetically by women to achieve this effect. (The name belladonna is from the Italian meaning "beautiful lady." ) The plant extract contains the alkaloids atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine. Belladonna has also been used since ancient times as a poison and as a sedative; in medieval Europe large doses were used by witchcraft and devil-worship cults to produce hallucinogenic effects. Other species of the potato family such as henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), mandrake (Mandragora officinarum), and Jimson weed (Datura stramonium) also contain one or more of the alkaloids present in belladona. The active substances act physiologically to depress the parasympathetic nervous system. Belladonna is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Solanales, family Solanaceae.

I thought belladonna was a name of another animal, too! Its a good thing you figured out what it was and knew what made him act that way! Glad Max is ok!

-Chrissy, Snowy, and Taffy

Glad you're ok Max! Thanks for reminding us that there are some bad wild plants out there. There are lots of overgrown and woodsy areas near me so I will keep your story in mind whenever Sadie and I are out.