Medical mishap leads to accidental poisoning of puppy

Becky Carstens arrived home one day to discover that her boyfriend had given Nellie, their doodle puppy, a zolpidem (Ambien) pill instead of the medication she was prescribed for her urinary tract infection. According to the release, Carstens has prescriptions for her dogs from 2 different veterinary clinics, one using a brown bottle and the other, which were Nellie’s, were in a blue bottle.¹ However, Carstens' Ambien bottle also came in a brown bottle.

Carstens explained that she had run out of her Ambien and needed a refill, so she left the pill bottle on the counter next to her dogs’ medications. Having to leave the house, she asked her boyfriend to give their dog his medication, and he told her when she returned that he had given both dogs the medication. Carstens knew that Nellie’s UTI medication had run out, realizing that he had given Nellie the Ambien, she called the veterinarian immediately. Their veterinarian then encouraged them to call Pet Poison Helpline.

“Never keep your pet’s medication with any human medications,” expressed Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT, a senior veterinary toxicologist and director of Veterinary Medicine at Pet Poison Helpline.¹ “In fact, if you have multiple pets, you should also store their medications separately, as it is very easy to mix up bottles and severe effects may occur if unnecessary medication is given.”

RELATED: Canines ingest entire bottle of calming chews

“Also, never give your pets their medications together, as you might drop a pill, and the other animal will beat you to it! Finally, make sure your pets aren’t around when you take your own medication, as that could also fall on the floor and become a deadly treat,” she continued.

Nellie was rushed to an urgent care facility after being given Ambien instead of her urinary tract infection medication (Image courtesy of Pet Poison Helpline)

Carstens brought Nellie to Urgent Pet Care in Omaha, Nebraska, where she provided the veterinary staff with her Pet Poison Helpline case number, where they then had access to their medical team to call Pet Poison Helpline and begin developing a treatment plan. The teams were worried about blood pressure changes, severe neurologic depression or agitation, and an increase in heart rate. The team at Urgent Pet Care induced vomiting by administering activated charcoal to absorb the toxin and then placed her on IV fluids. They monitored her closely overnight and provided supportive care.

Ambien is a human sleep medication that is designed to cause sleep and sedation in humans but can have the opposite effect on pets. If a pet ingests Ambien or any other common sleep medication, common signs to be on the lookout for are²:

• Severe sedation
• Severe agitation
• Hyperactivity
• Aggression
• Panting
• Vomiting
• Drooling
• Diarrhea
• Tremors
• Walking drunk
• Hyperthermia
• Respiratory depression
• Cardiovascular depression

At the end of the ordeal, Nellie’s veterinary bill was more than $1200, but thanks to pet insurance, after the deductible, 90% of the expenses were covered, including the cost of the call to Pet Poison Helpline.

“Pet Poison Helpline and pet insurance make for a good combination,” said Ricky Walther, DVM, chief medical officer at Pawlicy Advisor, the company that insured Nellie.¹ “The experts at Pet Poison Helpline provide industry-leading pet toxicology advice, and having the right pet insurance ensures that you can make the best medical care decisions possible without worrying about the cost of treatment.”

All Toxin Tails installments from Pet Poison Helpline are designed to educate pet lovers and the veterinary community on the multiple types of poisoning pets face inside and out of the home. All pets featured were successfully treated and made a full recovery.

References

1. Medication Mix-up Poisons Doodle Puppy. News release. Pet Poison Helpline. February 12, 2025. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medication-mix-up-poisons-doodle-puppy-302373881.html
2. Ambien. Pet Poison Helpline. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/ambien/