Adorable puppy nearly dies after ingesting opioid in Metro Vancouver

Fentanyl nearly kills 7-week-old puppy B.C.'s opioid crisis nearly claimed the life of a seven-week-old puppy that was saved using a double-dose of naloxone.

B.C.'s opioid crisis nearly claimed the life of a seven-week-old puppy last week, but a veterinarian was able to revive the tiny animal with a double-dose of naloxone.

Dr. Adrian Walton said the furry Shih Tzu was fading fast when his owner brought him into the Dewdney Animal Hospital in Maple Ridge. As staff rushed to figure out what was wrong, the pup's heart rate dropped to just 20 beats per minute, a fraction of what it should be.

The puppy surely would have died, Walton said, if the owner hadn't confessed that the animal had somehow ingested hard drugs.

"Most people lie to us when it comes to drugs and this owner was forthright," Walton said. "If he hadn't we would have lost this dog."

The owner said the dog was exposed to fentanyl, the same opioid blamed for a majority of recent drug overdose deaths in the province. And Walton treated the puppy with naloxone, the same opioid antidote paramedics use to revive humans.

"We were probably about 15 seconds away from the heart completely stopping. [The dog] was completely non-responsive," he said. "We gave the injection and we had a brand new puppy."

The veterinarian said he's since talked to a few experts and suspects the dog might have actually ingested carfentanil, an even deadlier drug, because of how much naloxone was required.

Given the circumstances, staff decided to nickname the dog Wallace after Uma Thurman's character in Pulp Fiction, who is saved from an overdose by a shot of adrenaline to the heart.

Wallace's rescue wasn't so dramatic, Walton said; the naloxone was administered through an IV.

The puppy spent a week recuperating at Walton's home with his family, but was returned to the owner on Wednesday. According to the veterinarian, the BC SPCA met with the owner and determined the animal would be safe with the same owner permitted he's moved to a different household.

Walton said the takeaway for all pet owners is that it’s important to be honest when bringing animals in for treatment. He stressed that staff don't care about what drugs people do, only about how they can appropriately care for their furry patients.

"This dog would have died if the owner had not fessed up and said this is what my animal got into," he said.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Scott Hurst