Phaedra, an Italian mastiff in Columbia, South Carolina, opened a drawer with her paws and chewed through a bottle of her owner’s grandmother’s naproxen while he was in the shower. Fifteen minutes was all it took. By the time Jim Wren got her to the clinic, her kidneys were failing and she was anemic from gastrointestinal bleeding. A veterinarian told him she might not make it.
What makes the story worth reading: naproxen is not a drug to leave within reach. It is an NSAID sold over the counter for arthritis and pain, and it has a very narrow margin of safety in dogs and cats. A single 220 milligram tablet can cause serious illness or death. “Naproxen should never be given to your dog or cat,” said Renee Schmid, DVM, a senior veterinary toxicologist and director of veterinary medicine at Pet Poison Helpline. “Naproxen can result in severe gastrointestinal ulcers and acute kidney failure in animals, even in low doses.”
Signs of naproxen poisoning include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weakness, vomiting, pale gums, lethargy, bloody stools, diarrhea, and increased drinking and urination as the kidneys struggle. Phaedra needed intravenous fluids, medication to protect her stomach lining, an anti-emetic for the vomiting, and monitoring of her red blood cells and kidney values in case a transfusion became necessary. She recovered after three weeks of blood tests, a special diet, and medication.
What this means for your dog: the difference between a scare and a tragedy is usually speed and information. If your dog may have eaten naproxen, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen, call your vet or an animal poison control line immediately and bring the bottle so the team knows the drug and the dose. Damage can start before your dog looks sick, which is why waiting for symptoms is a losing strategy. We covered the same principle in our guide to dogs who drink coffee.
Store human pain relievers in closed drawers or cabinets, and remember that a dog who opens drawers with her paws defeats storage that looks safe to us. If your dog needs pain relief, your vet has NSAIDs made for dogs and dosed for them. The case report from dvm360 has the clinical details.