Yesterday’s client wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. All on staff had fumed when she failed to arrive the previous day after reporting, by phone, that her dog had gotten into her bottle of Advil (ibuprofen). The woman failed to heed the receptionist’s direst warnings, claiming she couldn’t bring her dog in until the next morning. Period.
So I called her back and explained exactly how her dog might suffer and die if she did not get her dog to a hospital—any hospital—immediately. I translated my statement into Spanish in case she wasn’t getting every word of my point across. No dice. She swore the dog had only licked the candy coating off the pills—nothing more. Still, I calculate the toxic dose for her dog: one pill. She demurred on the emergency visit nonetheless. (What part of “vida o muerte” did she not understand?) I made a careful record of the conversation in the chart.
She finally arrived close to closing time yesterday (a Saturday). We fumed again. The little blonde Pom had been vomiting all night. No blood in the sick-up (so far), but I found plenty in his stool. His belly hurt. He was dehydrated. He needed 24-hour care. She declined to take him elsewhere. Another detailed entry in his chart.
So I hospitalized him for fluids (lots and lots) and GI-protecting drugs (lots and lots). Ibuprofen kills the GI tract and the kidneys first, hence the need for GI meds and fluids, respectively. It can literally bore holes into stomachs and kill kidney cells. Not a good drug to get into. Little dogs are especially at risk due their size relative to the amounts of Advil we humans routinely dose ourselves with. Even one is more than enough for a medium-sized dog, given a sensitive stomach and on-the-edge-anyway kidneys.
Luckily, this little guy is a young-un with happy kidneys at the outset. Were he an older creature, I’m sure we’d be wondering whether he’d be with us or not this morning. As it stands, I just checked in on him and he’s doing just fine. No vomiting overnight and he’s bright and alert. We’ll see what his kidney values look like tomorrow morning for the real insight into his prognosis. Now I guess I’ll call his mom and give her the update—vida (so far, that is).
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In Massachusetts failure to get your dog medical treatment when it's needed is against the law. If it's the same where you are I'd turn her in. There is no excuse big enough in my book for this moron not to get that dog to a vet. I say you make that woman up to look like a pit bull and send her to Vicks house.
Ken August 19th, 2007 05:51:00 PM
Good grief - how stupid can some people be?
Hope the little guy pulls through, but it's a shame he has to go home to that family.
CDC August 19th, 2007 08:24:00 PM
Wow - I don't know how you cope with that kind of negligence. I would go insane. But, I suppose you are well trained to in 'coping' to make sure the animals come first! Good for you Dr. Patty, you probably saved that little guy's life!
And, I'm so glad I read this because I had no idea and we don't typically keep Advil in the house. My husband recently bought a bottle and suffers from 'Male pattern blindness', thus he leaves a trail of everything throughout the house. I will warn him about the Advil and possibly throw it away (our dog is only 7.5# - scary stuff).
Amy in Cambridge August 20th, 2007 08:47:00 AM
I also recommend that if you do use Advil (or any other med with a candy coating) that you please switch to a gelcap or non-tasty version.
Dr. Patty Khuly August 20th, 2007 08:52:00 AM
We had a client once call and say she thought her cat's leg was broken - it had somehow gotten smashed under a heavy coffee table. We told her to bring her pet in right away - she figured it could wait. When she finally showed up w/her cat the next day (with a SEVERE fracture of the femur), we asked her why she hadn't come in earlier...her response? "He seems fine...I just gave him a Tylenol". !!!!!!!!!! I can almost fathom someone unknowingly giving their pet a Tylenol for pain, thinking, oh, it's just Tylenol, I'm sure it won't hurt (WRONG!). What I can't understand is how, even if she wasn't aware of the drug's toxicity, she could have possibly thought a "mild" painkiller would suffice for exposed, broken bone. Idiot. And the poor cat's leg never did heal properly...she had several bratty children who insisted on pulling on poor kitty's leg, cast and all. When I told her (calmly) that it was imperative that kitty was allowed to rest, out of the childrens' hands, and that his cast needed to stay clean and dry, she huffed that I wouldn't understand her inability to control her children since I didn't have any. Infuriating. It got to the point where I refused to speak to this client b/c I was unable to hide my fury. At any rate, kitty's kidneys survived, even if his leg didn't.
anna August 20th, 2007 02:11:00 PM
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