If your pet has been exposed or ingested a hazardous chemical, you must act quickly! Some of the symptoms of poisoning might be:

• unexplained vomiting
• difficulty breathing
• unusual drooling
• burns around or in the mouth
• unusual behavior
• convulsions or unconsciousness

Remember it is a race against the clock and the overall goal is to STOP the poisoning from being absorbed into your animals system.  Call us as soon as possible 619-421-1698.  If you call within 5-10 minutes of ingestion, I might direct you to induce vomiting to minimize harm.  But if you wait a few hours to see how your animal reacts, it might be too late.  It is always important to know how long ago the poison was ingested.

Identifying what the chemical is and how much your animal has been exposed to is very important.  Have the product labels handy.  If it was a medication, know the generic name of the drug and how many milligrams (mg) were in each tablet.  Also you should know your pets weight.

After hours you can call K-State’s poision control hot line at 785-532-5679.  The person on the phone might have to page the veterinarian on call, this may take several minutes.

A good rule of thumb is to always have hydrogen peroxide on hand, but DO NOT administer without instructions from a veterinarian or the the poison control center.

Remember to keep all of your gardening supplies, rat poisons, or anything that could cause your pets harm locked up!   And last but not least, a little drooling might just mean your pet is happy to see you!

Any questions, don’t hesitate to call and ask.

Dr. Anderson