This is heartbreaking.

A dog has died after ingesting Xylitol in West London. The dog ate a brownie which included the sweetener that is toxic to dogs. Ruby, a Hungarian Vizsla, cheekily stole the brownie and ate it, however 36 hours later she became ill and further deteriorated over the next week. Ruby's owner, Kate Chacksfield, was left devastated when her dog died just eight days later. She's now sharing her story in hope it will make other dog owners more careful about leaving food around the house. She told the Metro: "I only made brownies with Xylitol in to reduce the amount of sugar I was eating. But while I was out, Ruby managed to get into the container off the side in the kitchen and eaten a couple.

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"She seemed fine at first and it wasn’t until a couple of days later she began being violently ill and I took her to the vets. I had no idea how serious eating natural sweeteners was for dogs, the photos of her on life support still make me cry. "We’ve had her since she was a puppy and I’m completely lost without her." Kate said that in previous years Ruby had eaten sweet treats but her vet said that small amounts of chocolate weren't too harmful for a dog her size. "I had absolutely no idea Xylitol was harmful to dogs what so ever and I was heartbroken when they told me and I knew it was too late for Ruby. "I really, really urge other dog owners to read up on the dangers of Xylitol in dogs and urgently take their pets to the vet if they accidentally consume it as it could be the difference between life and death."