Portland pet owners say dogs overdosed on fentanyl

By Karli Olson

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    PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — Emily Englebright was taking her two chihuahua puppies on a quick potty walk last week in southwest Portland, when one of her pets stopped to sniff at something on the sidewalk.

“[Fivel] grabbed something on the way into my apartment, I thought it was just a piece of bark dust, I’m not sure what it was,” she said.

Englebright has lived in the North Hollow Apartments on Southwest Taylor Street for about four months. She owns two long-haired chihuahuas; 5-month-old Fivel, and year-old Fabel.

They walked back up to her unit, and minutes later, Fivel was lying flat on the ground.

“I just scooped him up and ran to Dove Lewis,” Englebright said, referring to a local emergency veterinary clinic. “By the time we got there, he was completely unresponsive, he was white. I thought he was dead when I handed him over actually, it was awful.”

The emergency vets administered Narcan, and sure enough, Fivel soon started to perk up.

“She thought most likely fentanyl, and she actually already had three fentanyl cases that night,” Englebright said of her conversation with a technician.

Within the same week, McKenzie Stevens had a similar situation with her friend’s dog, Todd, a Shiba Inu and Red Fox mix.

“We were walking down by the square, and he was sniffing like he normally does, and he got a piece of tinfoil, and we’re not sure if he stepped on it and licked his paw, but he was licking his paw to the point that it was raw,” Stevens said.

It didn’t take long for the frightening symptoms to appear.

“He looked like he was on his deathbed,” Stevens said. “Like, very lethargic, wouldn’t respond to his name, wouldn’t even really look up at us, his nose was running nonstop, he was barely breathing.”

They tried to take Todd to Dove Lewis, but they say they were turned away due to an outstanding bill, and no other vets in the area would see him due to his status as a wild animal.

Todd’s owner, Shawn, was able to get and administer the Narcan himself, and just in time.

“We actually thought he died a couple times,” Stevens said.

Dove Lewis staff says they’ve seen their fare share of these incidents in recent days.

“It’s becoming more and more common, and we have seen an increase recently,” said Tess Payne, the Director of Community Engagement.

They have documented three apparent fentanyl exposures within the past few weeks, a number they say has gone up since fentanyl patches became more widely used, and pets would have access at home.

Wherever the pets may be exposed, staff says it’s crucial to act fast.

“Fentanyl is really fast-acting so some of the symptoms can be shown as quickly as 15 minutes,” Payne said. “Lower respiratory rate, maybe difficulty breathing, your pet might have difficulty walking, some animals’ pupils might change, so a dog’s pupils might be a pinpoint while a cat’s might be dilated, it might even go as far as having seizures.”

Treatment is not necessarily one-size-fits-all.

“Narcan is certainly an option, but it’s not a silver bullet,” Payne added. “After treatment, an animal might need supportive care and continued monitoring for some time before they’re out of the woods.”

She said it’s important to closely monitor pets’ behavior while walking, whether it is out in nature or in the city, and to make sure they don’t ingest any bodily fluids that might contain drugs.

Narcan was enough to save Fivel and Todd, but the fear was enough for Stevens to make a change.

“It was definitely something terrifying, and made me not walk him Downtown anymore,” she said. “We’re actually going to get a stroller for him so we don’t have to walk him Downtown.”

For Englebright, it was enough to make her decide to move after her lease is up.

“I still almost tear up a bit when I think about it, because I don’t have human kids, they are my kids,” she said. “I’m still kind of processing it, because that was awful, I thought I was going to lose him.”

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