Image Credit: SUBMITTED/B.C. SPCA

A Kamloops man was forced to surrender his dog after it overdosed in his own home.

Tim Cole's dog Oscar is now left with a chronic condition that developed after it ingested multiple different drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. The BC SPCA seized the dog in September, leading to Cole's failed attempt to get Oscar back.

On Sept. 19, Cole and friends were at his home using fentanyl and other drugs. He said the drugs were put away when his friends left, after which he blacked out, according to a BC Farm Industry Review Board decision.

Despite claiming the drugs were put away, Cole awoke again that evening and saw Oscar on the floor beside him barely breathing.

In a daze and with slurred words, Cole called a friend to pick up Narcan for Oscar, rightly suspecting it overdosed. The friend obliged, arriving around 10 p.m. to find Oscar laying with Cole on the couch.

The dog "did not look good." Oscar was not moving and it's tongue was hanging out, according to the decision.

The friend, who isn't named in the decision, took three or four vials of Narcan and poured them into Oscar's mouth, rather than injecting them. Cole said he had given it to a dog orally before.

The friend told the review board the Narcan didn't seem to work. The friend called 9-1-1 for help on proper injection, but the dispatcher wouldn't give advice on treating a dog.

The friend then left to get more Narcan and returned to find Cole passed out again, while the dog's condition hadn't changed. This time the friend got help from a dispatcher saying he was giving the Narcan to Cole, then followed the same procedure with Oscar. This time Oscar awoke.

Emergency crews arrived shortly after, and the friend eventually left the house.

He returned the next day to find police and BC SPCA Const. Sarah Steeves at Cole's house.

Steeves found Oscar wobbling and struggling to walk, then ordered Cole to get the dog to a veterinarian within two hours. Cole, however, owed money to most clinics in town and still hadn't planned a way to pay for treatment four hours after the deadline.

When Steeves followed up, Cole was slurring his words again. She took Oscar to Central Animal Hospital herself, telling Cole the dog couldn't wait any longer.

Oscar tested positive for amphetamines and benzodiazepines. Naloxone treatment at the clinic also helped, meaning Oscar had opioids in his system as well.

The veterinarian told the review board it was unlikely the dog would be so severely intoxicated if Oscar had only ingested the drugs the night before. It was more likely Oscar took on another dose just hours earlier, according to the decision.

Cole told the review board he cut off ties with the friends who brought drugs into his home, adding that he's now going to counselling. He also moved and works on a family farm, telling the review board he is in a better place to care for the dog, while his friend that helped with Narcan offered to help with some veterinary bills.

The review board, however, decided the dog should not go back to Cole because it could put "distress and further suffering" on Oscar.

Oscar is expected to be put up for adoption after Cole's plea to get the dog back was refused. The review board also decided Cole should repay BC SPCA $2,480, with the vast majority going toward Oscar's veterinary bills and shelter costs.

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