Peter-Vincent Schuld

Media, including news broadcasts, are full of what is or is not harmful to humans. If you
have to believe every story 1 on 1, you can hardly put anything in your mouth that will cause damage to your body in the medium or long term.
What can or cannot children buy at school, what do we put in our mouths at dinner, even the mothers-in-law
are spared with due caution so that they only last a day longer.

But what about those other family members, who are always there for you and welcome you from the depths of their souls
when you come home. Who come to comfort you when you feel sad and who are so dependent on you?
Indeed our pets. They are perhaps the most vulnerable of all. The current health mania
and the anti-sugar revolt has literally murderous consequences for our unconditional boyfriends.

Just another day that should run like any other. Carlos van As, the proud and caring owner of beagles Roy, Bo and Luca, goes to do some shopping that afternoon in a nearby supermarket in the historic center of Schiedam, the Netherlands.
At the time, not realizing that the day would end dramatically.
Carlos returns home that afternoon with the groceries, puts them on the counter and realizes that he has forgotten a carton of milk.
Shortly afterwards, he leaves his homely apartment in the city centre to get that one carton of milk.
When he returns, he notices that his dog Bo has become seriously ill. The animal vomits and has terrible diarrhea.
Carlos notices that his faithful dog friend is not in good shape and rushes by tram to the vet who has a practice fifteen minutes away. Carlos realizes that something is very wrong, but does not yet notice that a terrible drama is unfolding. Bo is treated and they return home together.
When he returned home, a shock awaited him, the whole house is infested with vomit and loose stools.
He finds his second dog, Roy, in a helpless state. In the kitchen, Carlos catches his eye on a packet of gingerbread with sugar substitute Xylitol that has been taken off the counter by the dogs and partly eaten. He understands that this may be the cause of the unfolding drama.

Once again, Carlos and Roy start the tram ride to the vet in no time. While the iron wheels of the tram carriage squeak over the rails, Roy’s condition deteriorates rapidly. The poor animal continues to vomit during the ride.
When we arrive at the vet, the condition of beagle Roy turns out to be so critical that the dog has to stay at the vet for intensive care. The veterinarian contacts the National Poisons Information Center at the University Medical Center in Utrecht, where doctors and veterinarians can go permanently for questions regarding poisoning.
Indeed, it turns out that xylitol is the main culprit. Carlos van As: “I searched on Dutch websites and there was hardly anything to be found about it, in contrast to English websites that are full of the dangers of xylitol for pets”.

Carlos returns home defeated, well aware that Roy may not survive.
When he returned home, the third dog Luca also became seriously ill. For the third time, Carlos goes to the veterinary clinic
where Luca receives the necessary care, but Luca made it through. However, it becomes more and more clear that dog Roy will not make it to tomorrow.

just like a human life…. One moment you’re happily walking or frolicking around, the next moment you’re suddenly snatched from life. In the early morning, Carlos receives the heartbreaking news that Roy did not make it and has died.

Roy would no longer cheerfully greet his owner, never again come to lie warmly against his owner, never again be able to look irresistibly at his owner with his sweet puppy eyes. Roy has been fatally struck by xylitol.

Simply explained, xylitol is a sweetener, a sugar substitute that can be found in birch trees and corn, among other things. Xylitol is extracted from these two natural products and used to give food, drinks and sweets a sweet taste in this anti-sugar era.

Carlos van As, Roy’s owner, is determined to make the outside world aware of the dangers of xylitol for pets.
He can’t get Roy back, but Carlos is on a mission. Not to smear or pillory the manufacturers of foods containing xylitol
with proverbial “pitch and feathers”. After all, xylitol does not have an acute danger setting for humans. Carlos doesn’t want the death of his canine friend Roy to pass without some meaning.

This mission does not take into account the experience of his other two beagles Bo and Luca. Bo, a beagle who was given a good life by Carlos after first acting as a test animal in cosmetics research, doesn’t know what to do. Roy comes home for a while and lies in his box. Bo doesn’t budge for a moment from Roy’s lifeless body. He licks it and the sight is heartbreaking. How unconditional is the love that can be given by an animal and felt by an animal? The moment Carlos picks up the casket containing Roy’s remains, Bo follows the casket. He can’t say goodbye to his buddy. From the moment Carlos transferred Roy to the crematorium, dog Bo completely lost his way.

He constantly drags down the rug on which his friend Roy used to lie. The loss of his boyfriend is very hard for him, so much so that he stops eating and only looks for his boyfriend. Bo is not to be comforted.
The bond between the three dogs was more than good, but the bond between Bo and Roy was an inseparable one. Roy returned home after his cremation in a beautiful box. A very nice and dignified memento for Carlos. But you can’t expect a dog to understand this part of the mourning culture and bereavement. After all, the familiar smell is missing. Bo continued to look for his boyfriend for days on end. Dog Luca dealt with the loss in her own way and didn’t share it with Bo.

Somewhere in the Netherlands there was a Beagle that urgently needed a new home. A couple divorced and the dog became, how incomprehensible for someone who really loves dogs, “surplus”. Carlos took care of the animal and without ever being able to take Roy’s place, Carlos and his beagle family welcomed the new friend named Bas. Bo started eating again and regained his zest for life.

Owner Carlos is just as defeated, but still plans to warn pet owners.
Shortly after Roy’s death, it contacted the manufacturer of the xylitol-containing gingerbread (Peijnenburg Zero).
He tells the sad story to the secretary of the company in Geldrop.

For a short time, Carlos was called back by Rene Groen, general manager of Peijnenburg, who reacted with dismay to the dramatic events. The contact between Carlos van As and Rene Groen was sincere and cordial from the start.
Peijnenburg director Groen, himself a proud dog owner and dog lover, immediately put into practice what Corporate Social Responsibility stands for today
and so, in consultation with funding by Rene Groen in his position as director of Peijnenburg, a poster and flyer campaign was started to warn pet owners of the deadly dangers of the ingredient xylitol for the critters. The intention is that the posters and flyers end up as much as possible in places where pet owners go, such as pet shops, grooming salons, veterinary practices and pet hotels.

We won’t get Roy back with it, but perhaps this way a lot of suffering among pets and their caring owners can be saved.

In mid-November, Facts Found has an extensive interview with Rene Groen van Peijnenburg and we will continue to follow this topic closely
.