A South Surrey man is hoping his story may also help save four-legged lives, after his canine narrowly escaped a deadly opioid overdose.
The shut name got here earlier this month, after Derek Thornton took his eight-year-0ld chocolate lab Charlie for a walk close to 160 Street and 26 Avenue.
About half an hour after they bought home, Thornton’s 10-year-old son got here and advised him Charlie was performing unusually.
“His eyes were open but he was lying still like he was sleeping. His eyes were cloudy, kind of flickering, not quite right, he wasn’t responding to his name, I lifted his head and his head just kind of flopped down, kind of lifeless. I lifted his paws, same thing — he was quite unresponsive,” he stated.
The household rapidly known as a neighborhood veterinarian that was open late and rushed Charlie for assist. When he arrived on the vet, his pulse was extraordinarily low and the canine was taking simply three breaths per minute.
Staff intubated Charlie and stabilized him, earlier than calling forward to a pet emergency hospital in Langley, who recommended they struggle Naloxone on the the pup.
After one dose, Charlie’s breath price climbed to twenty per minute, and after a second dose, he stood up, Thornton stated.
“The doctor in Langley effectively confirmed opioids at that point which was kind of a shock to us,” he stated.
“The vet there said most likely fentanyl. They said he probably just sniffed it on the ground somewhere, because he didn’t get into anything in particular that night, but it’s happening more and more.”
Thornton believes his household was fortunate as a result of they had been in a position to get to a vet that was open in below quarter-hour, and Charlie was handled rapidly.
The incident left the whole household rattled.
“He’s 80 pounds. My 10-year-old son is 80 pounds. Yeah, it’s scary — I mean he was on the brink of death. Anyone or any pet smaller than him maybe wouldn’t have made it,” he stated.
“We were pretty panicked carrying Charlie out down to the car; our kids were crying their eyes out and screaming. We really didn’t know what we were dealing with.”
Dr. Hanna Weitzenfeld, senior supervisor of animal well being for the B.C. SPCA stated drug poisoning in dogs will not be unusual in British Columbia, amid the province’s opioid public well being disaster.
While she stated there isn’t information to indicate it’s a rising drawback this 12 months, it’s one thing that occurs typically sufficient that pet house owners needs to be ready for the likelihood.
“Some of the signs you could look for might be drowsiness, not responding to his name if the dog normally does, wobbliness, or seeming like they are out of it or uncomfortable, whining, weakness, droopiness,” she stated.
“Those might be some of the first signs, but sometimes it can progress quite quickly to being recumbent, lying on the ground, breathing slowing down, that kind of thing.”
Weitzenfeld stated given the potential threat, it could be a good suggestion for pet house owners to talk with their veterinarian about acquiring a Naloxone equipment.
She added that house owners ought to all the time maintain a detailed eye on their furry pals, and that no a part of the area is immune from attainable harmful accidents.
“It really could be anywhere,” she stated. “I could walk out my front door and have this happen with my dog.”
Back in South Surrey, Thornton stated he’s hoping his household’s expertise may be an essential lesson for others.
He stated many individuals have requested him the place the incident occurred, however his message is that it may occur wherever and it’s extra essential for folks to know the indicators and to be ready to take care of an overdose.
“Raising awareness I think is a better use of our time and energy than being angry about it, because being angry about it doesn’t do anything,” he stated.
Charlie has since totally recovered, however within the wake of the incident the household went out and picked up a Naloxone equipment for their very own home.
What’s extra, the incident has been a daunting life lesson for his circle of relatives — together with his 13-year-old son who simply began highschool.
“I think it helped hammer the point home when we said, ‘You know when we talked about drugs being mixed with things? The thing they’re mixing the drugs with is what Charlie overdoes on and that could very well be you, and we don’t want that obviously,’” he stated.
“Not to make light of it, but we were giving him the drug talk — we didn’t think we needed to give our dog the drug talk.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
