Fire and EMS crews are used to the unexpected. And, that's just what happened in a Michigan fire station a few days ago.
“This gentleman lives way out in the country. Dispatch center told him to bring the dog up here to the fire station,” Coldwater Fire Chief Dave Schmaltz told WOOD reporters. “We run on unique calls all the time. This one was just one of those out-of-the-ordinary (calls), more than the usual.”
The puppy, Whip, was acting lethargic and needed urgent medical attention after chewing up his owner’s prescription fentanyl patch. His curious antics nearly cost him his life.
Armed with information, the crew was ready with the appropriate treatment -- Narcan.
The chief said he learned the owner may not have disposed of the pain patch properly, and Whip found it. "Even when you use that patch for three days and rotate it out, there’s still medicine and product left in that patch.”
He suggested disposing used prescription medications, like opioids, in a sealed or child-safe container before throwing it in the trash. He said they should never be flushed down the toilet.
Dr. William Fales, a professor of emergency medicine at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo, said the opioid’s effect is a bigger, more dangerous hit for a smaller person or animal in this case.
He said the timing of the treatment was crucial.
“Naloxone can’t help anyone if we don’t recognize it,” Fales said, praising the owner for recognizing the decreased level of consciousness and other side effects.
Schmaltz said he was proud of Platoon C for their efforts to revive Whip.
“They went above and beyond what their normal training is. They thought outside the box and we had a successful outcome.”
