Pet beagle ingests cocaine while on neighbourhood walk, leads to emergency vet care nightmare
Beagle cross Feldman plays in his backyard oasis in London, Ont.’s Old South neighbourhood, and is doing much better on Thursday.
Just a few days earlier, the two-year-old had a brush with death.
“I started calling his name to get him to respond and he just looked terrified,” his owner Stephanie Turnbull says.
What happened is hard to believe.
Turnbull had Feldman out for a walk late Saturday afternoon. The adventure through the neighbourhood and beyond led them along streets, through parks, and to a quick stop at a variety store.
Soon after getting home, however, it was clear something was wrong.
“He was whining, he started kind of licking at the air. He started at a certain point going in circles, he was moving his head back and forth, so it was pretty dramatic,” explains Turnbull.
With the London Regional Veterinary and Emergency Referral Hospital closed, the only quick option was virtual care.
That is when a veterinarian, through an online assessment, was able to determine that Feldman somehow had cocaine in his system.
“When she first mentioned to us that she thought he had drugs in his system, and she specifically said cocaine, wow, it was hard to believe,” says Turnbull.
After virtual appointments and a series of phone calls to triage professionals, Feldman was eventually sent to the closest emergency veterinary care available, located in Mississauga.
Reporter Bryan Bicknell meets Beagle-cross, Feldman, who is recovering after medical scare on Sept. 24, 2022. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)
Turnbull was frantic.
“Every minute we think he’s dying. Every minute he’s getting worse. And every minute that this takes could cost him his life,” she says. “And then he had to deal with being on the 401 with all the lights, all the sounds, for a two hour drive to get some help.”
Blood and urine tests confirmed that Feldman did have cocaine in his system. For Turnbull, the thought of it was terrifying for multiple reasons.
“I’m in a neighbourhood with wonderful young families and they’re on the ground playing in parks and if my dog could ingest it or inhale it I don’t see why a toddler couldn’t,” she says.
The ordeal cost approximately $2,300 in emergency vet and virtual care bills, in addition to an overnight stay in a hotel in Mississauga.
According to those in the veterinary profession, a shortage in care has been coming on for several years.
Dr. Daniel Joffe, VP of medical operations at the London Veterinary and Emergency Referral Hospital says the shortage is due in part to the Ontario Veterinary College not producing enough graduates to be able to meet the increasing demands, but also veterinarians new to the profession opting to work fewer hours.
“We have enough staff, both doctors and assistants, and technicians to be open about four days a week,” says Joffre. “If we were to spread it thinner than that, we would not be able to give any service at all.”
As for Feldman, it was a close call, but thankfully he survived it.
Turnbull says she wants other families to realize what they may be up against, and to have a plan in place if they find themselves in need of emergency veterinary care.
“I think on a larger scale we need to start asking our vets, ‘What’s causing this, what can we do?’ I think it needs to be a bigger conversation,” she says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it’s too late
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.