The Details

When Beckey Carstens came home and found that her boyfriend had accidentally given their dog Nellie an Ambien, rather than her prescribed medication for a urinary tract infection (UTI), panic set in.

“I take a man’s amount of Ambien,” Carstens joked. “I needed a refill, so I set the nearly empty bottle on the counter next to our dogs’ pills. I had asked my boyfriend to give our dog his medication while I was out, but when I came home, he told me he had medicated both dogs. I knew that was impossible because we were out of Nellie’s UTI medication. I realized he had given Nellie one of my Ambien rather than her UTI pill. When we figured out what had happened, I called my veterinarian immediately. They then had me call Pet Poison Helpline.”

Carstens has prescriptions for her dogs from two different veterinary facilities. As it turned out, the bottle from one hospital was brown, while the others from where Nellie received her prescription were blue. The Ambien prescription also came in a brown bottle.

“I hadn’t really noticed that the bottles were different, but when he told me he had given both dogs their medication, I instantly knew something was wrong,” said Carstens. “Because my Ambien bottle was also brown, he assumed that it was her medication because it was with our other dog’s pill bottle.”

“Never keep your pet’s medication with any human medications,” warned Dr. Renee Schmid, a senior veterinary toxicologist and director of Veterinary Medicine at Pet Poison Helpline. “In fact, if you have multiple pets, you should also store their medications separately, as it is very easy to mix up bottles and severe effects may occur if unnecessary medication is given.

Also, never give your pets their medications together, as you might drop a pill, and the other animal will beat you to it! Finally, make sure your pets aren’t around when you take your own medication, as that could also fall on the floor and become a deadly treat.”

Once Carstens arrived at Urgent Pet Care in Omaha, Nebraska, she gave the medical team Nellie’s Pet Poison Helpline case number, which allowed their medical team to call back and start developing a treatment plan together.

“I was initially irritated that I had to pay a separate fee, but the hospital staff explained that their veterinarians are not toxin specialists, and they needed that expertise to treat Nellie,” added Carstens. “That made sense, and they certainly took great care of her.” Although there are more than 124,000 veterinarians in the United States, there are fewer than 100 veterinary toxicologists.

With Nellie’s exposure, the toxicology experts were concerned with blood pressure changes, severe neurologic depression or agitation, and an increase in heart rate. The medical team at Urgent Pet Care induced vomiting, administered activated charcoal to absorb the toxin and placed her on IV fluids. She was monitored closely overnight and provided supportive care.

‘Nellie’s doing great now, but it was a scary and expensive process,” Carstens admitted. “Our veterinary bill was over $1,200, but fortunately we have Embrace Pet Insurance. After the deductible, the insurance covered 90% of the expense.”

“Pet Poison Helpline and pet insurance make for a good combination,” said Dr. Ricky Walther, Chief Medical Officer at Pawlicy Advisor, a pet insurance comparison and education platform favored among veterinary practices. “The experts at Pet Poison Helpline provide industry-leading pet toxicology advice, and having the right pet insurance ensures that you can make the best medical care decisions possible without worrying about the cost of treatment.”

“The reimbursement process was very easy, and they even covered the cost of the call to Pet Poison Helpline,” Carstens added.

Pet Poison Helpline created Toxin Tails to educate the veterinary community and pet lovers on the many types of poisoning dangers facing pets, both in and out of the home. All the pets highlighted in Toxin Tails have been successfully treated for the poisoning and fully recovered.

About Pet Poison Helpline

Pet Poison Helpline®, your trusted source for toxicology and pet health advice in times of potential emergency, is available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals who require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. Per incident and subscription service options are available. We are an independent, nationally recognized animal poison control center triple licensed by the Boards of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine and Pharmacy providing unmatched professional leadership and expertise. Our veterinarians and board-certified toxicologists provide treatment advice for all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline’s fee of $89 per incident includes follow-up consultations for the duration of the case. The company also offers pethelpline^(SM) and pethelplinePRO^(SM) subscription services directly to pet lovers. Based in Minneapolis, Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.