What is Urban Legend?  Is it a story that is told by 100's of people, where the facts are changed, making the story just that...a story?    

Recently, a friend of mine sent me an email about how a German Shepherd dog died due to exposure to an ingredient, Propylene glycol (found in some anitfreeze products on the market), This ingredient was found in a common household mop cleaning system.  

Well, given the chance I will research something to find out what is true and what is not...I found the same story on the Snopes.com website (if you go on that website, be careful of the many pop-ups!). 

Snopes claims that the ingredient, Propylene glycol, used in the mop cleaning system is the "less-toxic" form of anitfreeze and so it does not cause death in animals and small children!   HMM, Define "less toxic".    

 My concern here is that sometimes companies and websites such as this, quickly dismantle "myths" when there actually is some truth to them.   

 After reading that this story was just a hoax, I still didn't feel right...so, I googled some more...read what I found out about this "so-called" safe ingredient and it's counterpart, the "toxic" antifreeze ingredient, from an animal care website, http://www.cah.com/dr_library/antifreeze.html

Every year, by some estimates, about 10,000 dogs and cats are victims of accidental poisoning by automobile antifreeze. A pet does not have to drink a lot of antifreeze to be poisoned.  Most brands of commercial antifreeze consist of 95 percent ethylene glycol, an extremely toxic chemical. Even a few licks of this sweet-tasting liquid can be fatal to a cat or dog. (Ethylene- glycol-based antifreeze is also extremely hazardous to children. A few ounces are lethal.)  

Another source of antifreeze are the decorative "snow globes" glassware. The liquid in the these displays contain 2% antifreeze and are very toxic. recently a young cat was poisoned when ingesting some of the liquid from a shattered "snow globe.  Nothing to HO HO HO about!

Remember that your car can leak coolant at any time. If you see a puddle of greenish-colored liquid in your driveway,

·         flush the area with plenty of water and   

·         don't delay locating and fixing the leak. 

·         Another method of quick clean-up is to spread cat litter on the spill, clean up with rags (which are bagged immediately) 

·         and then rinse. 

·         Antifreeze will biodegrade in the environment, but it takes weeks or months to do so, so removing the spill is absolutely essential.

Antifreeze poisoning occurs in two stages:

·         In the first stage, the ethylene glycol in the antifreeze causes a drunken appearance in the animal within about 30 minutes which may continue for several hours. 

 ·         After passing through stage 1, the animal appears to recover. 

·         Stage 2 begins when the dog's liver begins metabolizing the ethylene glycol, changing it into more toxic substances. 

·        Within 12 to 36 hours of ingestion, these metabolites have reached such a level that the dog's kidneys stop functioning, and the animal slips into a coma. 

 Getting the dog to a veterinarian is critical within the first 9-12 hours following ingestion. After that length of time, the liver will have already begun metabolizing the ethylene glycol into substances that cause kidney failure and ultimately death.

One step owners can take to prevent a potential tragedy from befalling their pets is to use a less-toxic propylene-glycol-based antifreeze in the car.  Car, not household floors! 

**THIS IS THE INGREDIENT  that Some sources think is Acceptable! (maybe for antifreeze in your car and spills on the garage floor---but not on your household floors where pets and children play!)

Propylene glycol, on the other hand - although not entirely nontoxic - is considerably less toxic than ethylene glycol. These products do provide an added margin of safety in the event of accidental ingestion. However, it still can cause death if a large amount is ingested.  What is a large amount?  My pet licks his paws a lot...is that a large amount?

YOU DECIDE...Is your child or pet worth having a clean floor?  READ LABELS!  Warm Water and Elbow Grease go a long way!

If your standard practice is to take your car to a mechanic for its winter preparations, be sure to ask specifically for a propylene-glycol-based antifreeze. (But be prepared to pay a little more.) There are several nationally available propylene- glycol antifreezes on the market, including: 

 Sierra (Safe Brands Corp., 1-800-289-72

Sta-Clean (Sta-Clean Products, 1-800-825-3464 

Prestone LowTox® Antifreeze/Coolant-available at most automotive stores and departments .

Read the labels, trust your instinct, it's usually always right! 

All the Best,

Beth Aldrich