We’ve got a routine when I get home from work.
The dogs greet me at the door, I take them outside to use the bathroom, then it’s back inside for their dinner. When they are done, Chloe gets a pill in a peanut butter pill pocket as an anti-seizure medicine and Fenwick – so as not to be left out – gets a small crunchy treat.
I got the pill ready and the treat – one in each hand – then bent over to hand them off to the dogs. But, I wasn’t paying close enough attention and instead of Chloe, I handed the pill pocket to Fenwick.
The instant the pill reached his mouth, I realized my mistake. But, it was peanut butter flavored and he scarfed it up.
<SHIT> I thought. <SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT>
I grabbed him to pry his mouth open – hoping that he hadn’t swallowed it for some reason.
But his mouth was empty.
The panic kicked in hard, but it didn’t slow me down. I scooped him up and took him outside, then got down on the ground with him. I put my index finger in his mouth and back to his throat to try and get him to throw up.
If he threw up the pill, then the problem was solved.
It didn’t work, though I tried several times. He tried really hard not to bite me, but ended up doing so anyway. I didn’t blame him – circumstances were extraordinary.
Back in the house I set him down and grab my phone and the pill bottle. A couple of searches later – thank you, fast internet – and I got only a vague answer about the safety of the drug and some dangerous-on-their-own options for making the dog throw up. It would depend on his weight and the dose – but the notes included a link to a Pet Poison Control.
I debated a quick moment about taking him to our vet – it was close to 5 pm and they would likely just send me to the emergency room. Going directly to the emergency room wouldn’t guarantee a quick response either and I felt the time pressure mounting. I decided on poison control as the quickest option – and I could still take him to the ER afterwards if recommended.
Before I called, I scooped him back up and went upstairs to weigh us both on the bathroom scale – then set him down and got my weight.
We both went back downstairs and I did some math to get his weight. I scribbled some quick notes, got my wallet out, and called.
7 minutes – at most – had elapsed.
They answered right away and I explained the problem. For every question, I had an exact answer. When they asked his weight I gave the exact amount and told them that I had just weighed him. They were surprised and a little impressed at how prepared I was. I made a mental note to enjoy that later.
With all my info, they needed to hand me off to the payment system. I dutifully entered in my info quickly and correctly on the first try, then back over to the human.
They thanked me for the payment and put me on hold while they did the research.
Even in my panic, I was still level-headed enough to do exactly the right things in the right order. Made me hopeful of how I might handle myself in future emergencies.
At this point, Jim got home. I gave him the rapid fire summary and began the first in the series of apologies I would offer that night.
He told me that I was doing exactly what he would have done – and had done, if I recalled.
The poison control folks got back to me – with good news.
The pill is generally safe and at his weight it would take 10 times that dose to put him in danger.
I opted then to start breathing again.
At most, he might get lethargic within the hour, but it should clear his system in 8 hours. We should monitor him and if he got really lethargic to take to the ER, but that was unlikely and he should be fine.
As she was about to give me the case number, Jim asked me if we should give him his allergy pill – since Fenwick has had trouble keeping that down and it might make him throw up.
I asked that question and the poison control woman though that was a great idea. If he kept the pill down, good. If he threw them both up – even better. We shouldn’t try anything else to make him throw up, but if the other pill did it, that would be good.
I wrote down the case number and ended the call.
I relayed the rest of the info to Jim and apologized again. I broke down a little with pent up worry and panic and he gave me a hug.
“It was an accident”, he said, “And Fenwick was going to be okay,”
He said he would keep an eye on Fenwick if I wanted a break and I instead went down to the basement to clean the cat’s litter box as a self imposed penance.
We took turns keeping an eye on him, especially the first hour, but he took a normal doggie nap and then was fine to run around the house and go for a W A L K.
He slept normally through the night and was fine the next morning. Completely un-eventful.
I should mention, I suppose, that I did give Chloe her pill after we got the all-clear from poison control.
And I’ve also changed my habits about the dogs and their medicine/treats. One at a time – and double-checking before the hand off.
I didn’t sleep well that night, but with a lesson learned and no consequences – other than the fee from poison control – the household is back to normal.
And Fenwick – our little man – is thankfully right as rain.