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Overdose antidote saves puppy
Peter Thibault shared a moment with his puppy, Zoey, a 3-month-old Labrador retriever that had to be injected with naloxone after she overdosed on an opioid that the vet assumed was fentanyl. (jim davis/globe staff)
By Jaclyn Reiss
Globe Staff

A 3-month-old yellow Labrador puppy had to be injected with naloxone after she accidentally overdosed on an opioid that vets assume was fentanyl.

The incident, which happened in a sleepy Andover neighborhood, underscores just how far-reaching the opioid crisis has become, according to the pet’s owner and the veterinarian who treated the ailing pup.

Peter Thibault, a married father of two, said he was walking the family’s new puppy, Zoey, near Phillips Academy when the dog started nosing around in a pack of cigarettes on the ground.

“I was concerned about the tin foil in the liner because she might choke on it — you know how puppies are,’’ Thibault told the Globe. He wrested the cigarette pack from Zoey’s mouth and placed it back on the ground, making a mental note to pick it up on his way back.

He never got the chance. Two minutes later, Zoey fell to the street, motionless. “She was fine and then, bang, she just collapsed,’’ he said.

Thibault rushed Zoey home and said he and his wife became increasingly concerned as the puppy’s eyes rolled back into her head. Her tongue was hanging out; her breathing was labored.

That’s when Thibault decided to bring Zoey to the Bulger Veterinary Hospital in North Andover. Veterinarian Kristine Demers examined the dog, asking Thibault to describe what led up to Zoey’s symptoms.

“They fixated on the cigarettes,’’ Thibault said.

After prepping Zoey, Demers asked Thibault to leave the room. Five minutes later, he was called back in, astonished to see the small Labrador “up and at ’em like nothing had happened.’’

“They said it was an opioid and I honestly couldn’t believe it,’’ Thibault said. “

According to Dr. Krista Vernaleken, the facility’s medical director, Demers swiftly considered an opioid overdose as one possibility for the puppy’s symptoms, deciding to give Zoey a shot of the overdose reversal drug.

“That a collapse happened in an otherwise healthy dog who was fine just five minutes before, and knowing the dog had chewed on something on the street, there was a limited number [of] things that could be,’’ Vernaleken said.

The dog is expected to make a full recovery, Vernaleken said, because she was treated so quickly. “If not treated, she probably would have died,’’ the vet said. “Just like a human overdose, it [can be] fatal.’’

Vernaleken said Zoey most likely overdosed after licking the drug’s residue from the cigarette box.

Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com