The mischievous Bruce Wayne recently visited the Canada West Emergency Room under less than ideal circumstances.  Bruce Wayne is a young French bulldog described by his owners as having an extremely quirky personality and a sincere love of eating. He had been found chewing on a new bottle of Naproxen (sold under the brand names “Aleve” and “Naprosen” among others) with the lid off and with the coating licked off of several pills.  It was unclear how many pills Bruce might have eaten, but it was reported that it may have been up to ten pills.

Naproxen is part of the family of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-imflammatories (NSAIDs) and discussed in more detail in our recent post on mobility for older dogs.  Prior to the development in recent years of more specific animal-approved NSAIDS, naproxen was occasionally used in dogs but at much lower dose and much less frequency than in humans.  The margin of safety is narrow, and dogs process this drug out of their systems much more slowly than humans.  

Treatment:

Bruce Wayne was made to vomit, given activated charcoal, and treated with IV fluids overnight. 

Outcome:

The next day, repeat chemistry analysis was done and no azotemia developed.  With some reinvestigating and recounting, it was also found that none of the pills were missing. Bruce Wayne was discharged to homecare and his owners report he is doing well and looking forward to celebrating his first birthday on Saint Patrick’s day, March 17.  Wishing you a very happy and healthy birthday Mr. Wayne!