The Chestnut Hill Local recently published the story Bella, a Conshohocken dog, who got into her owner’s purse and ate about 30 pieces of chewing gum. From the article:

In April, a happy, healthy 15-pound Bella, 10 years old, unzipped her mom’s handbag, which was on the kitchen counter, and ate about 30 pieces of chewing gum, which contained Xylitol. She was hospitalized and treated, and she miraculously survived. (Bella’s mom, Jennifer, is a Conshohocken resident who requested that her last name not be mentioned.)

Bella seemed to make a full recovery; she was happy, playful and eating well, but for some reason she was losing weight, even on her diet at the time of three cups of dry puppy food per day (recommended by Bella’s vet), which contained an amazing amount of calories and fat.

Add to that, every time she ate, she had to poop, and her poop wasn’t quite right, either. It was mushy and had a strange color and texture. Her vet also prescribed probiotics, which didn’t help at all, and she continued to lose weight.

Bella’s mom contacted us (Sam’s Hope) after Bella’s hospital stay for assistance with blood monitoring, then again in early July, telling us that she was nothing but skin and bones (9 pounds) despite the huge amounts of food she was eating. We asked Jennifer if she would be willing to bring Bella to our partner vet, Donald Kreider, who is quite a distance away in Southampton, lower Bucks County,, and she agreed.

Read the rest of Bella’s story here.

Photo: Facebook page of Sam’s Hope