Just in time for the holiday season we also have various warnings about the toxicity of different household items. Dogs in particular are endangered by particular items that might ordinarily be left out by families during festivities—especially because they are extremely curious animals and might find something tasty that would otherwise be quite dangerous.

There is an e-mail making the rounds right now about a horrible experience some dog owners had when their dogs got into the potpourri and presented some extremely adverse reactions. There are currently more reports of dogs encountering strychnine poisoning after ingesting potpourri and that appears to be what happened in this saddening event.

We have suffered a terrible, terrible tragedy.

Last Wed. two, beloved Cavaliers of mine, Haley and Zoe both ate potpourri from a decorative basket in my living room . Within hours, they were vomiting it, convulsing and going into total body rigidity and shock.

We took them to the after hours clinic, they had no idea what it could be and wouldn’t listen to me about them vomiting potpourri at home and how I had such concerns about the toxic effects of it. They treated symptoms. We transferred them to our day vet. He also wouldn’t listen to me about the potpourri theory. He said they had “strychnine” poisoning symptoms.

The e-mail goes on at quite some length and implicates a type of potpourri sold by Wal-Mart and made in India. At this time there are no confirmed reports of any particular potpourri being more dangerous than others and we’re not here to make that judgment. Deadly or no, potpourri isn’t intended to be injected by animals or people and it is probably likely to cause some sort of intestinal misfortune.

You can see the full e-mail on a number of different other blogs here and also posted to the snopes.com message board (a good place to help study the veracity of an Internet claim.)

We think that the FrogDog blog had an excellent alternative suggestion for potpourri for those concerned.

A healthy, non toxic alternative would be a home made sachet with rose petals, hips and dried lavender and herbs, or choose a “Mulling Spice” potpourri, such as the one pictured above. Pretty, and everything in it is actually meant to be used as a tasty spice to be added to wine or apple cider.

Barring that, you could choose, like me, to share your home with a man who prefers the smell of a pack of small, gassy dogs to the smell of artificial air fresheners.

Liquid potpourri is just as toxic as the stuff in the above account—and keep in mind any other scent producing products that bear fluids could be a source of harm. Especially decanters and vessels that can be tipped, spilling the fluid. This doesn’t mean you have to ditch them entirely—but it might be wise to make certain they are out of the reach of your pets just in case.

Animals getting into liquid potpourri can have upset stomachs, mouth burns, seizures, and any number of adverse reactions.

Be warned though: these products can be very dangerous to pets! Hot oils and wax poses a burn hazard. Additionally, the fragrances or essential oils used to scent the products pose a toxicity hazard. Several common oils are known poisons to pets when ingested or when they come in contact with skin and eyes. Consider that if a pet “accidentally” gets some of the oil on a paw (by spilling the product or dipping in a curious paw) and licks it off, this can be enough to make a pet sick.

Please use caution when using these products in homes with pets — now and all year round.

According to Janet Crosby, DVM at the About.com Veterinary Medicine blog.