California Dog Goes Blind After Eating Oxycodone During Walk

Lori Burns was enjoying a walk with her two dogs in Santa Monica, California when she noticed one of them acting strange.

The 15-pound pup, Chance the Rapper, was breathing heavily and Burns wasn’t sure what was going on. Eventually, Chance collapsed completely and that’s when Burns knew the rescue pup needed emergency help.

According to People, she rushed Chance to the emergency vet and at first, they weren’t sure if he’d survive.

According to KTLA, Burns said: “They [the vet] said they needed to immediately ice his body and give him oxygen and start an IV and that’s when I looked at the vet and I said, ‘Is he going to live?’ and he said, ‘I really don’t know.'”

The dog had an alarmingly high fever of 106 degrees. If they were unable to lower his body temperature, his organs would fail and there’d be no hope of saving him.

Of course, Burns wanted to know why her dog was suddenly so sick after being perfectly healthy prior to the walk. After some testing, the veterinarian confirmed that Chance had somehow ingested oxycodone and was experiencing life-threatening overdose symptoms.

It’s not uncommon for dogs to get into prescription medication, but it’s usually medication that’s kept inside the home. Burns claims no one in her family had the medication so she belives her dog must’ve ingested it during her walk at some point.

Fortunately, Chance stabilized, and after a night at the emergency vet, he was able to return home – but not without a major side effect: blindness.

It’s unclear if he’ll regain his vision or not, but Burns is hoping her experience serves as a warning for other dog parents to be vigilant about their surroundings and to keep a close eye on their pets.