Dogs love getting their chops around things they’re not supposed to, but sometimes that can be deadly.
Pickle the Labrador almost died after biting into a brand new asthma inhaler that she found in her home.
The pup accidentally poisoned herself after nibbling into the medication device, which are toxic to dogs due to containing salbutamol.
Pickle ingested around 200 doses in one go, including into her eyes.
Her owner, Claire Banks noticed something was wrong when she came home after being out with a friend and Pickle’s demeanor was totally different to normal.
Instead of running to greet her owner at the door, Pickle slumped onto the floor with her tail between her legs.
The dog’s breathing had become out of control and she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
Luckily, the eight-year-old chocolate Labrador was saved after the 41-year-old from Suffolk rushed her beloved pet to the vets.
‘Pickle’s condition deteriorated so rapidly right in front of my eyes and the vets were struggling to stabilise her,’ says Claire.
‘They asked me if she had eaten anything toxic as Labradors are typically scavengers, and Pickle is no exception.
‘But there was no evidence in the house that she had got hold of anything, as if she usually chews anything then there are bits all over the floor.
‘There was nothing to suggest she had eaten anything she shouldn’t have.’
When no cause could be determined, vets thought Pickle may have developed heart disease or a tumour on her heart and Claire was told to take her to a specialist hospital in Newmarket.
Before they left, the vet asked again if Pickle could have eaten anything toxic because her symptoms were similar to those of other Labradors that had been poisoned by inhalers.
That’s when it clicked: Claire and her two daughters, Charlotte, 14, and Emma, 12, all have asthma.
She rushed home to find one of their blue inhalers with a puncture hole.
After staying overnight at the vets to be treated with an IV, Pickle luckily pulled through.
The vet told Claire that Pickle ‘had woken up with her tail wagging and desperate for her breakfast.’
Before the incident, Claire had no idea that inhalers were toxic for dogs.
She says: ‘[Vets] think that dogs are attracted to inhalers because they smell sweet to them and also have scent of their owners,’ says Claire. ‘They have been known to steal them out of bags and pockets but they are deadly to dogs.
‘Pickle is still very tired but she is definitely on the way to getting better.
‘I’d never even thought about how dangerous inhalers could be for dogs, so I just want as many pet owners to also be aware of just how fatal these can be to your animals.’
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