Massachusetts

Puppy Saved With Narcan After Opioid Overdose

Pup found drugs in pack of cigarettes

A puppy that collapsed after ingesting some sort of opioid in Massachusetts has survived after being given an overdose reversal drug more often administered to humans.

Zoey is a 3-month-old yellow lab who lives with Peter Thibault and his family in Andover. 

The puppy loves to play and chew on anything in sight. 

"Just about anything that's not nailed down she'll try to eat," said Thibault. 

Friday morning the pair went out for their usual morning walk. Moments after leaving the house, Zoey found a cigarette box near a tree and started shewing on it. 

"There wasn't any cigarettes or tobacco in it," said Thibault. "I put it on the ground and was going to get it on our way back from our walk." 

Unfortunately they didn't finish their walk because 20 feet further Zoey collapsed. 

"Her eyes started to roll back in the back of her head and her tongue started to hang out." 

After chewing on the cigarette box Thibault rushed her to Bulger Veterinary Hospital. 

"Very profound sudden lethargy, low heart rate, low respiratory rate," said Krista Vernaleken, the medical director for Bulger. 

All of those symptoms are red flags that Zoey had ingested something toxic inside the cigarette box. 

"That particular doctor had familiarity with opioid toxicity so she gave a trial of naloxone," said Vernaleken. 

Zoey was given two doses and showed signs of quick improvement. 

"We knew at that point that it was an opioid," Vernaleken said. 

Zoey is now happy and healthy. 

Thibault said he has a different outlook on the opioid crisis in a different way. 

"You hear about the opioid epidemic but this was a real eye-opener," he said. 

Thibault is most concerned for his kids and other children. 

Zoey found the cigarette box at a school bus stop, just steps away from the family's home.

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