A family dog in Australia survived the harrowing ordeal of swallowing six baggies of heroin.
After becoming sick, the dog was treated with medication and—eventually—surgery.
The animal survived.
No Ordinary Walk In the Park
Shelby, a 16-month-old cocker spaniel, was out for a walk in the park with owner Denis Parslow, according to the Daily Mail report.Parslow told the news outlet he noticed Shelby had picked up a large plastic bag off the ground.
“He had something in his mouth which was quite large so I challenged him and he swallowed it,” Parslow told the publication.
The owner recounted how the dog became less active than usual, and later began to vomit.
He took Shelby to a veterinarian, who first gave the dog antibiotics for a suspected gastrointestinal infection.
The symptoms got worse, however, and Shelby was taken back to the vet for another consultation.
An x-ray revealed the disturbing cause of the dog’s persistent malady.
Parslow said the veterinarian gave the dog Narcan—a medication normally administered to people suffering from a heroin overdose.
The bag of drugs was inside the dog for five days, the owner told Daily Mail, before it was decided to remove it through surgery.
Shelby’s treatment ended up costing the family around $2,800, according to 7News.
The owner said that to his knowledge no other dog had ever encountered anything like Shelby had, and the beloved family dog was lucky to be alive.
“When the police saw him, they thought he looked very much unlike a drug mule or a suspect,” said Parslow, according to the report.
He added, ”(They) kind of fell in love with him as well, I think.”
Authorities in Australia said anyone who finds illicit substances should contact the police immediately.
Opioid Crisis in the United States
Meanwhile, according to a recent report by the National Safety Council (NSC), accidental opioid overdose has surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of unintentional deaths in the United States.Americans have a 1 in 96 chance of dying from an opioid overdose, while the probability of dying in a motor vehicle accident is 1 in 103.
Two milligrams of fentanyl is a lethal dose for a nonopioid user.