Susan Holland, DVM
Associate Veterinarian

Every day at Pet Poison Helpline® we receive calls where a medication or supplement has been accidentally dropped and a pet has ingested it. The caller is often distressed, and, rightfully so because many medications administered in correct doses for a human constitute a dangerous dose for a pet. Even worse, some medications and supplements are not tolerated at any dose by certain species of pets.

The callers vary and may be the pet owner, a pet sitter caretaking another’s pet, or guest in a household with pet animals. Besides the frightening incident that is transpiring, these callers have another thing in common – they never anticipated they would drop their medication nor how fast a pet would ingest the product.  Often callers either take their medications or administer the medications to another person in the household with the pet close at hand.  Makes sense right! Our pets love to tag along as we walk from room to room.  Pets also watch us attentively while we eat learning that items we place into our mouths are usually food. Therefore, when that pill or tablet is dropped the pet will pounce upon it likely believing they have consumed a food treat.  And it only compounds the situation that their natural instinct to NOT share drives them to swallow quickly and ensure that the goodie (or in this case – the baddie) is 100% theirs.

My suggestion for reducing these incidents is as simple as a closed door.  First, please be thoughtful when taking or administering medications. Don’t make medicating an add-on to talking on the phone, putting on your clothes, preparing meals, or the fill-in-the-blank of daily chores that we all have to accomplish.  Medications are both inherently helpful AND dangerous so take a few minutes to focus on the task when handling and administering them. Second, place the pet OUTSIDE of the room where you will be taking or administering the medication and CLOSE THE DOOR firmly. LOCK the door if you think another family member may open it during this process and allow the pet entry. Take or administer the medication being sure that it was swallowed if giving it to another.  I suggest taking the medication over a plugged sink, if able, so that if dropped you have a smaller area to search for the product. That said, if a pill is dropped you should SEARCH and FIND. Do not underestimate the dedication of a pet to find that dropped pill within hours, days or weeks and ingest it. When the medication is safely ingested by yourself or the appropriate patient, open the door and rejoin your pet.

So please safeguard your pet and CLOSE the DOOR when you medicate yourself or others, because the best way to treat a toxicity is to prevent an intoxication!