It is not uncommon for a pet to get into a poison or a toxin. These toxins can cause anything from vomiting and diarrhea to seizures and death.

If you believe your pet has been poisoned the first thing you need to do is call us. The Long Beach Animal Hospital, staffed with emergency vets, is available until the evenings 7 days per week to help if your pet is having any problems, especially shock, seizures, pain, difficulty breathing, or bleeding.

Think of us as your Long Beach Animal Emergency Center to help when you need us for everything from minor problems to major a major emergency. We serve all of Los Angeles and Orange county with our Animal Emergency Center Long Beach, and are easily accessible to most everyone in southern California via Pacific Coast Hwy or the 405 freeway.

If you have an emergency that can be taken care of by us at the Animal Emergency Hospital Long Beach always call us first (562-434-9966) before coming.  This way our veterinarians can advise you on what to do at home and so that our staff and doctor can prepare for your arrival. To learn more please read our Emergency Services page.

One of the more important things you can do to protect your pet from a poison or trauma is to have a pet first aid kit available.

From the Pet Poison Helpline:
Never administer anything with your new first aid kit  without calling us or a veterinary poison hotline first.  This is especially important regarding anything with your pet’s eyes or anything it has ingested.

Another important thing to keep in mind is home remedies. When it comes to our pets and poisons, we don’t want to chance endangering our pet’s lives with some made up, Internet-discovered, erroneous home remedies! We hear it all – owners who use milk, peanut butter, vegetable oil, or salt…and these remedies are all WRONG! Please know that these products should NEVER be administered as they don’t work!

Please see our section on important numbers for help with a poisoning.

Contents of a first aid kit:

Hydrogen peroxide 3% (within the expiration date)

An oral dosing syringe or turkey baster (for administering hydrogen peroxide)

Teaspoon/tablespoon set (to calculate the appropriate amount of hydrogen peroxide to give)

Activated charcoal

Digital “fever” thermometer

Liquid hand dish washing detergent (i.e., Dawn, Palmolive)

Rubber gloves

Triple antibiotic ointment (with NO other combination ingredients – NOT for use in CATS!)

Vitamin E oil

Diphenhydramine tablets 25mg (with NO other combination ingredients)

Ophthalmic saline solution or artificial tears

Sweet electrolyte-containing beverage

Karo syrup

Bandage material- gauze and non-stick bandages and tape

Scissors

Soft muzzle

Sterile dressing

Diluted betadine solution

Leash

Tweezers

Splint material

Cotton balls