Toxic Ingestion or Exposure

If your pet has ingested or you suspect to have ingested a toxin, please call The Pet Poison Hotline and start a case. There is an $85 fee to start a case, this will be applied to the daytime emergency fee if your pet needs to come to the clinic for treatment and therapy. 

24/7 ANIMAL POISON CONTROL CENTER

(855) 764-7661
$85 incident fee applies

When you call, an expert receives your concern, determines if your pet can be monitored from home or should be seen by your veterinarian. If veterinary care is warranted, the experts will work together with your veterinarian to develop a treatment plan specific to your pet. This process is done to speed up treatment time for your pet and ensure they are Homeward Bound.

From the Pet Poison Hotline:

EMERGENCY INSTRUCTIONS

Call the Pet Poison Helpline® at 855-764-7661 for help immediately! The sooner a dog poisoning or cat poisoning is diagnosed, the easier, less expensive, and safer it is for your pet to get treated!

What to do if your dog or cat is poisoned:

• Remove your pet from the area.
• Check to make sure your pet is safe: breathing and acting normally.
• Do NOT give any home antidotes.
• Do NOT induce vomiting without consulting a vet or Pet Poison Helpline®.
• Call Pet Poison Helpline® at 855-764-7661.
• If veterinary attention is deemed necessary, contact your veterinarian or emergency veterinary clinic immediately.

Detailed Instructions:

• Immediately remove your pet from the area, and make sure no other pets (or kids!) are exposed to this area. Safely remove any remaining poisonous material from their reach.
• Check to make sure your pet is breathing normally and acting fine otherwise.
• Collect a sample of the material, along with the packaging, vial, or container, and save it – you will need all that information when you talk to your veterinarian and call a Pet Poison Helpline® expert.
• Do NOT give your dog any milk, food, salt, oil, or any other home remedies! Also, never inducing vomiting without talking to your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline® – it may actually be detrimental or contraindicated to induce vomiting!
• Don’t give hydrogen peroxide to your pet without checking with a vet or with Pet Poison Helpline® first. For you cat lovers, hydrogen peroxide doesn’t work well to induce vomiting (it just causes massive foaming and salivating instead!), and stronger veterinary prescription medications are necessary to get your cat to vomit up the poison Kitty ingested!
• Get help. Program your veterinarian phone number, along with an ER vet and Pet Poison Helpline®’s phone number (855-764-7661) in your cell phone so you will always have immediate access to help.

Keep in mind that the prognosis is always better when a toxicity is reported immediately, so don’t wait to see if your pet becomes symptomatic before calling for help. It’s always less expensive, and safer for your pet for you to call immediately. Remember that there’s a narrow window of time when we can decontaminate (induce vomiting or pump the stomach) in the case of poisoning!