Drug-Sniffing Dogs Are Overdosing On Opioids – IOTW Report

Drug-Sniffing Dogs Are Overdosing On Opioids

KFI: Drug-sniffing dogs are the latest victims in the growing opioid epidemic that is spreading across the country. When police bring the K9 units to search for illegal drugs, the dogs risk becoming exposed to lethal amounts of opioids, including fentanyl.

While dogs have a higher tolerance for opioids than humans, inhaling even a small amount of fentanyl, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin, can result in the animals overdosing on the drug.

“Dogs are not as sensitive to opioids as humans are,” Cynthia Otto, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Working Dog Center told Fox News. She explained that it takes 20 times the dose to create anesthesia for a dog as it would a human. “If a dog is showing sign of opioid intoxication, that means they were exposed to a really big dose.”

“A poppy seed size of the powder can kill a dog,” Dr. Maureen McMichael of the University of Illinois’ College of Veterinary Medicine told the Chicago Daily Herald.   MORE HERE

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