A sweetener in sugarless chewing gums can kill dogs as an American woman found out after her dog Murphy Jo ate some gums and fell ill.

Tonia Cox found out that her dog had knocked her son's chewing gum off the counter and ingested about 20 pieces of it. According to Cox, the dog starts vomiting and later on became sluggish. The dog was rushed to a local animal hospital and diagnosed with liver failure.

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Daily Telegraph reported that the vetenarist has told Cox to bring her kids and say goodbye to Jo, the family dog. However, are three blood-plasma transfusions, lucky Jo pulled through. The estimated bills for the said incident last year came to more than $5000 ($AU7000).

Xylitol is the culprit of the incident; it is a sugar substitute increasingly used to manufactured food . It is considered safe for humans but is extremely harmful to dogs. Xylitol is 100 times as toxic as milk chocolate, a more commonly known hazard, according to experts.

Xylitol is made from corn cobs, birch trees, fruit and is chemically considered a form of sugar. Study shows that it can prevent dental cavities.  Xylitol can be found in many products in chemists and health food shops such as some brands of sugar-free chewing gums.

Animal Poison-Control Center reported that the sweetener is responsible for a large of accidental dog poisonings in the U.S. alone and some are fatal.

Dr. Ahna Brutlag, senior veterinary toxicologist at the Pet Poison Helpline, stated that she seen a dramatic increase in Xylitol. Dr. Brutlag revealed that the center has had 2800 calls about known or suspected xylitol ingestion so far this year - up from 300 in 2009.

According to Dr. Brutlag, there are still many dog owners who have never heard of the danger of Xylitol and do not understand that something as benign as an ordinary sweetener could be toxic to pets, she explained.