Case report details heroin packet retrieval and surgery in a dog

A newly published case report in the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care describes the diagnosis, attempted endoscopic retrieval, and eventual surgical removal of multiple heroin packets from the stomach of a 3-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier. The report, by Melanie Repella and Kristi Gannon, details recurrent clinical signs and ongoing exposure concerns, underscoring how illicit drug ingestion can present as both a toxicology emergency and a gastrointestinal foreign-body case. Broader veterinary toxicology references note that heroin and other opioids can cause life-threatening CNS and respiratory depression in dogs, and naloxone may help reverse signs, though monitoring for recurrence is important. (merckvetmanual.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the case is a reminder that suspected opioid exposure may not be limited to simple ingestion of loose drug material. Packaged drugs can create a dual risk: mechanical obstruction or delayed gastric retention, plus catastrophic overdose if a packet leaks or ruptures. That makes early imaging, careful risk assessment around decontamination or endoscopy, and a low threshold for surgery especially relevant. Endoscopic removal is often successful for gastric foreign bodies in dogs, but published multicenter data also show that some cases still require gastrotomy, particularly when retrieval is unsuccessful or risk escalates. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

What to watch: This case will likely sharpen discussion around how ER and specialty teams triage suspected “body-packing” style ingestions in pets, including when to move from endoscopy to surgery and how to manage repeat exposure risk in the home. (orbi.uliege.be)