Pet Friendly Properties

Iknow my dog is not the sharpest tool in the shed. She may be the sweetest flower in the garden, but she wouldn't know which plants to avoid in the yard.

So when we set about building a dog yard for Gracie, with friends who helped us clear out vines and fence in the space, I considered what kind of plants I wanted there. There were so many beautiful possibilities, and I thought I had an idea of what would be safe.

A week later, I was digging up half of what I'd stuck in the ground. Why? The plants were poisonous.

"Eighty-five percent of what we put in our yard pretty much is poisonous to humans, pets, whatever," said Steve Krzyston, information manager at Rockledge Gardens. And pets will eat them.

"We do have some stupid dogs and cats out there, mostly dogs," he said.

He looks up information online for customers or shares Julia Morton's book "Plants Poisonous to People in Florida," but ultimately, he tells people to talk to their veterinarians about what to avoid.

We're lucky to have a vet in the family, Christine Jenkins of the Banfield clinic at the Melbourne PetSmart. The doctor's tales of pet poisonings from plants were enough to make me shudder.

Oleanders are highly toxic. If they're in or near your dog's yard, remove them.

Less common here and more common in South Florida is the castor bean, but she saw a case of poisoning in Wisconsin from a bean someone had picked up on vacation.

"They brought it back because they thought it was a pretty bean, and the Lab ate it, and that was it for the Lab," Jenkins said. "It was just a miserable death."

Sago palms are deadly, too. "When it has the seeds, the dogs like to chew on them, and it has cyanide in it," she said. "So it either kills them right away, or it kills their liver down the road."

Even plant experts can be caught unawares by the dangers of toxic plants.

Sally Scalera, a FLORIDA TODAY columnist and University of Florida horticulture extension agent for Brevard County, had a frightening experience with her miniature dachshund.

"We almost lost our puppy to sago poisoning," Scalera said. "He got into it the night before his first birthday. And I knew the seeds were highly toxic, but I wasn't aware that the whole entire plant was."

She made the dog vomit immediately with small doses of hydrogen peroxide. Though he suffered liver damage from the sago, he got better after treatment.

Some plants sneak into your garden: rosary pea, for instance, "a viny weed that comes in because of the birds," Scalera said. Its seeds are scarlet, with a black spot. While pretty, "if the seeds are cracked, one will kill," she said.

"Fairy ring," manifested in a ring of toxic mushrooms, also can spring up. Pay attention and remove them from your pet yard if you see them.

Scalera is a fan of native plants that are wildlife-friendly. "I would have no problem attracting butterflies, hummingbirds and birds and still not poisoning my pets," she said. "They definitely can work hand in hand."

Lists confusing

In Gracie's yard, the toxic allamanda with its showy yellow flowers -- also known as golden trumpet -- and the fishtail palm had to go. Most palms are safe, but I happened to choose one that can cause breathing difficulties if eaten.

Lists of toxic plants can be confusing, so peruse them carefully. While fish tail fern is listed as safe, fishtail palm isn't. And some lists offer conflicting information, showing that the toxicity of some plants can fall into a gray area.

Just because a plant isn't on the poisonous list doesn't mean it isn't toxic. Florida plants can get short shrift in lists of toxic and nontoxic plants online.

There are different levels of toxicity, too; some may simply irritate the skin, while others can be fatal.

In place of the removed plants, which ended up outside the fence, I installed a crape myrtle and an areca palm, both of which are generally considered safe. They are complemented by passion flower, bamboo, confederate jasmine and hibiscus, but the hibiscus may not be a great idea.

Gracie pursues hibiscus with cowlike persistence. Though Jenkins has seen no problem with the plants, and some experts list them as edible, others say if a pet eats a lot, she can have an upset tummy, diarrhea, drooling and other less-than-fun symptoms.

Now I'm a bit worried about the croton, which is listed as causing stomach distress when eaten in quantity.

Note that if pets eat any plant outside of their diet, vomiting or diarrhea may ensue. And some plants we consider food, such as onions, garlic, avocado and grapes, are harmful to dogs.

Pretty plants such as lilies can be toxic to pets, especially cats, Scalera said. Often cat poisonings occur around Easter, when people bring lilies into the house.

Other perils

Yard dangers extend beyond toxic plants. Plants with thorns can cut up pets. Pesticides and fertilizers can be toxic; if you can't avoid them altogether, at least use them according to directions and make sure they are dry before your pet goes into the yard.

Even trendy cocoa mulch, made from the leftovers of the chocolate-making process, can poison dogs, which are attracted to the taste.

"I know my little dog is a chewer," Scalera said. "I'm not putting cocoa mulch in, because how do I know that he won't start eating it?"

Human medication is the top poisoner of dogs, with insecticides at No. 2, according to the Poison Control Center run by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Snail bait is especially nasty, Jenkins said.

Poisons aimed at rodents were at No. 3, and animal medications were at No. 4.

Plants came in at No. 7, prompting more than 4,000 calls to the ASPCA's Poison Control Center last year, spokeswoman Dana Farbman said.

Topping the ASPCA's poisonous plant cases last year were lilies, tulip and narcissus bulbs, marijuana, sago palm, oleander and rhododendron and the related azalea.

Never assume that your pet, especially a dog, is smart enough to avoid eating something.

"They'll eat just about anything," Farbman said. "Any animal that would raid the cat box for Tootsie Rolls isn't too picky."