“Maggie” is a playful, adorable, seven-month-old Bichon puppy who came into our hospital for ovariohysterectomy surgery (commonly called a spay). Since ovariohysterectomies are considered major abdominal surgeries and require anesthesia, Maggie had pre-anestheic bloodwork done to determine if everything would be all right during the procedure. Anesthetic drugs are metabolized by the liver and kidneys so it is very important the veterinarian know these organs are functioning properly and to make sure the patient is not anemic, has no subclinical infections and has normal platelets for clotting. Young, healthy animals like Maggie rarely have problems but we check nonetheless.
However, we did find problems with Maggie’s liver enzymes. The veterinarian promptly called Maggie’s owners to discuss postponing surgery and to investigate the reasons for the high liver values. After careful questioning, the owners admitted that Maggie loved to chew on a lantana shrub in their backyard. She never seemed to get sick from it so they didn’t think there was any harm in letting her eat the plant. What they didn’t know is that Lantana camara is toxic to most animals. Usually cattle are affected since lantana is usually found growing wild in pastures where they graze. Lantana is also a popular ornamental plant which grows easily in sandy soils anywhere from Texas to Florida.
Most common signs include bloody diarrhea, weakness, jaundice and irritated, raw skin. Aside from damaging the liver, lantana contains toxins that cause ulceration of all mucous membranes and, if eaten small amounts over a long period of time, will make pets extremely sensitive to sunlight resulting in sunburns and secondary skin infections. In Maggie’s case, she had only ingested enough to affect her liver. We asked the owners to keep her away from the plant. (We believe they removed the plant from their backyard) and we rechecked her liver enzymes two weeks later. We’re happy to report her bloodwork returned to normal and she went through surgery with no complications.
(This was an actual case history from a local veterinary clinic, actively affiliated with the Hillsborough Animal Health Foundation.)
