Choke Cherries or Just Choke?

I noticed that the choke cherries are ripening beautifully along one of the trails I traveled yesterday morning.

The rich reds of the fruits in various stages of ripening are a vivid contrast to the bright green leaves and are a feast for the eyes.

And speaking of feasting, birds and other creatures take full advantage of the choke cherries when they're in season (they also steal cherries from the nearby orchards, much to the growers' dismay).

Bush honeysuckle (above and below), on the other hand, is bad news in many ways. It's pretty enough, the blossoms smell wonderful and, while the fruit looks lovely, the berries can be seriously toxic (as well as being an invasive import that chokes out native plants).

Baloo once had a very bad encounter with these berries. He mistook them for autumn olives and dove into the bush with enthusiasm. He almost immediately started foaming at the mouth and vomiting, scaring me half to death. It turns out that almost every part of this plant can be toxic, with the exception of the flowers with their sweet nectar. The chemical reaction when the berries hit Baloo's stomach acid turned the cherries to cyanide. 

I thought of that experience when I saw both the cherries and honeysuckle growing next to each other and looking so similar and thought I'd post a warning, since they look so tempting. 

So, if you have a sweet and adventurous dog that likes to sample fruit, keep it away from these berries. I'm hoping other dogs will have better sense than Baloo!! Happily he made a rapid and complete recovery -- and I only had to remind him once or twice that it was an evil bush before he recognized it for what it was and left it alone.