We met Max when he was brought into the clinic. He was having trouble breathing and his gums were turning blue. When we first examined him he was struggling so much that we were afraid we were going to lose him.
We spoke with his owners and learned that Max had ingested an organophosphate poison that is common on the island. His owners were desperate to save him so attempted a home treatment they heard about: forcing Max to swallow oil and soap. Unfortunately this treatment is a myth and does not treat the poison. Unknown to the owners, by forcing Max to swallow the oil and soap, he got aspiration pneumonia which is why he was struggling to breathe so much.
We gave Max the antidote for the poison and treated him with oxygen and antibiotics for his aspiration pneumonia. He responded well to therapy and was up wagging his tail the next day!
***If you believe your animal has injested poison, bring them directly to your local veterinarian. Your vet will have an injectable antidote. Home remedies are at times misleading and can cause harm to your animals. Symptoms of intoxication include excessive salivation, difficulty walking, and muscle tremors.***
This case shows why we show up to the clinic every day: to save sick patients and to provide humane education to the community about when to seek veterinary care so we can keep patients like Max as healthy as possible! Please consider contributing to Darwin Animal Doctors, so we can continue our work.
