Tell Us Your Story

Your comments about the Washington Poison Center are greatly appreciated!

The following letter was sent to us from one of our callers in May 2006. If you would like to share your poisoning story, please fill out the form on the contact us page.

This is a true story…funny…scary…and embarrassingly true.

Our Labrador Retriever had double knee surgery, and the veterinarian gave ma a sedative to keep her mellow for the couple of weeks afterward to help the healing process. To encourage her to take the pill, I would slip it in a bit of cheese each morning. Being a lab, food is the key to success!

One morning, I was in a hurry, trying to get the dog fed, my daughter to school, eat my own breakfast on the fly, pack lunches, etc. Too many things going at once, and I absent-mindedly popped a piece of cheese into my mouth. (I tend to nibble as I’m in the kitchen while doing a bazillion things.) Gee, that cheese went down smoothly! It wasn’t until I saw Sunny, the lab, looking at me with big brown expectant eyes that I realized…OH MY GOSH!…I drugged myself with the dog’s tranquilizers!!!!!!!!!!

I called the vet; I called Overlake Hospital…everyone was confounded…and then I realized it made sense to call Washington Poison Center! The operator was great. We both laughed, but she was reassuring, too. She looked up the drug, and we chatted a bit realizing that I probably shouldn’t drive, but a drug for a 60 lb dog couldn’t be too harmful to a 140 lb human.

Within a half hour, I was woozy and ended up sleeping most of the day feeling “dog tired.” (Ohhh, bad pun!) But, I was happy that WAPC was there to assure me that: 1) I wasn’t going to die; 2) I wasn’t going to have to have my stomach pumped; and 3) this too shall pass!

Thanks for having a poison hotline and your wonderful Mr. Yuk message. The stickers were invaluable when my daughter was little. Who knows, I may have to put a Mr. Yuk on the dog meds, too!

Smiles,

Jan S.

Bellevue, WA