Published Sept. 18, 2023 9:16 p.m. ET
Derek Thornton says a fentanyl overdose is the very last thing he anticipated when his canine Charlie immediately grew to become unwell after a walk.
Just minutes after getting back from a walk by Surrey, B.C., earlier this month, Derek Thornton’s eight-year-old chocolate lab Charlie started appearing surprisingly.
Thornton mentioned Charlie’s eyes had been “not quite right” after they arrived home from their stroll within the space of 26 Avenue and 160 Street.
“I was calling his name, he was non-responsive. I lifted his head, at that point his head was just flopping over, his paws are flopping over,” mentioned Thornton, who rushed his canine to Grandview Animal Hospital close to his home.
“They intubated him to give him some oxygen and gave him some IV fluids, because his heart rate was down at 40, and his breath rate was at three, three breaths a minute,” mentioned Thornton.
The veterinarian referred to as an emergency animal hospital in Langley, and workers there urged the clinic strive administering the overdose reversing drug naloxone. Thankfully, there have been two doses available.
“They gave him the first dose, and his breath rate jumped up to 20. And so he was responding, so they gave him a second dose, and he stood up basically from a lifeless dog to back from the dead,” mentioned Thornton.
Once Charlie was stabilized, he was transferred to the Langley animal hospital, which ran some checks that confirmed the canine had overdosed on fentanyl he’d someway inhaled or consumed whereas on the walk.
Thornton was dumbfounded. “We were thinking maybe stroke or seizure. Our minds, not at all did they go to drug overdose,” he mentioned. “The dog didn’t do anything wrong, just sniffing for a spot – there just happened to be something on the ground that he sniffed.”
Dr. Hannah Weizenfeld, the senior supervisor of animal well being with the BC SPCA, mentioned unintentional overdoses throughout canine walks will not be that unusual.
“It is something that can be a risk anywhere, but some locations are higher risk than others,” she mentioned, including medicine can affect dogs in a short time.
“They can seem OK one minute walking them, and the next minute they’re essentially down,” Weizenfeld mentioned, including “If your dog is normally quite coordinated and all of sudden he’s swaying left to right and potentially drooping in the hind legs, then that could be one of the first signs you notice.”
A shot of naloxone might be life saving, nevertheless it needs to be administered quickly after publicity, and veterinary clinics aren’t at all times open or close by.
“If you’re in an area you think your pet might be at risk, it might be helpful to actually carry a naloxone kit you can potently use for your pets,” mentioned Weizenfeld. The treatment is secure for pets.
Thornton went to a pharmacy and picked up a free naxolone package. “Now we have one in the house just in case,” he mentioned.
Charlie has totally recovered from his fentanyl overdose, however Thornton remains to be haunted by how the state of affairs might have unfolded.
“If we had delayed or didn’t act for whatever reason trying to figure out things at home, then it could have been a different story altogether,” he mentioned.
Thornton mentioned Charlie’s eyes had been “not fairly proper” after they arrived home from their stroll within the space of 26 Avenue and 160 Street.
“I used to be calling his identify, he was non-responsive. I lifted his head, at that time his head was simply flopping over, his paws are flopping over,” mentioned Thornton, who rushed his canine to Grandview Animal Hospital close to his home.
“They intubated him to offer him some oxygen and gave him some IV fluids, as a result of his coronary heart price was down at 40, and his breath price was at three, three breaths a minute,” mentioned Thornton.
The veterinarian referred to as an emergency animal hospital in Langley, and workers there urged the clinic strive administering the overdose reversing drug naloxone. Thankfully, there have been two doses available.
“They gave him the primary dose, and his breath price jumped as much as 20. And so he was responding, so that they gave him a second dose, and he stood up mainly from a dull canine to again from the lifeless,” mentioned Thornton.
Once Charlie was stabilized, he was transferred to the Langley animal hospital, which ran some checks that confirmed the canine had overdosed on fentanyl he’d someway inhaled or consumed whereas on the walk.
Thornton was dumbfounded. “We had been considering possibly stroke or seizure. Our minds, under no circumstances did they go to drug overdose,” he mentioned. “The canine didn’t do something mistaken, simply sniffing for a spot – there simply occurred to be one thing on the bottom that he sniffed.”
Dr. Hannah Weizenfeld, the senior supervisor of animal well being with the BC SPCA, mentioned unintentional overdoses throughout canine walks will not be that unusual.
“It is one thing that may be a danger wherever, however some areas are increased danger than others,” she mentioned, including medicine can affect dogs in a short time.
“They can appear OK one minute walking them, and the following minute they’re basically down,” Weizenfeld mentioned, including “If your canine is often fairly coordinated and he’s swaying left to proper and doubtlessly drooping within the hind legs, then that may very well be one of many first indicators you discover.”
A shot of naloxone might be life saving, nevertheless it needs to be administered quickly after publicity, and veterinary clinics aren’t at all times open or close by.
“If you’re in an space you suppose your pet is perhaps in danger, it is perhaps useful to really carry a naloxone package you'll be able to potently use on your pets,” mentioned Weizenfeld. The treatment is secure for pets.
Thornton went to a pharmacy and picked up a free naxolone package. “Now we have now one in the home simply in case,” he mentioned.
Charlie has totally recovered from his fentanyl overdose, however Thornton remains to be haunted by how the state of affairs might have unfolded.
“If we had delayed or didn’t act for no matter cause making an attempt to determine issues at home, then it might have been a unique story altogether,” he mentioned.
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