An animal control team responded to a call in the nick of time and rescued an abandoned dog who had ingested meth.
A Realtor who visited a property at the beginning of the month called Fresno County Animal Control after discovering four dogs and six cats abandoned when their owners moved out. The animal control team left a notice on the vacant property asking the owners to contact them immediately, but with no callback and no way to contact the owners, animal control returned two days later to rescue the pets.
Upon further investigation, the team noticed one of the dogs “violently shaking.” Breana Begin told Newsweek via email that she and her partner initially believed the dog was shaking from the cold and rain, since the other dogs were also shivering.
“But as soon as he got up to stand, and we saw his tremors were more severe, we started leaning towards the possibility of him ingesting some sort of toxin,” Begin said.
Begin and her partner walked around the property only to find debris and trash. She said it is not uncommon for them to discover animals who have ingested toxins or drugs, but since they were unable to determine the cause, the dog was rushed to the emergency vet. There it was determined that he had ingested meth, a powerful stimulant.
Begin shared this dog’s gut-wrenching story on her TikTok account @acobegin. The text on the video reads: “This sweet boy is currently receiving much needed medical attention.”
@acobegin/TikTok
Luckily, there is a happy ending to this story. The team rescued him and got him the treatment he needed before it was too late.
“His tremors have completely subsided and he is recovering in our isolation ward,” Begin said. “He was given intravenous fluid therapy and a sedative to help subdue his tremors and make him more comfortable.”
As for the other animals, none were found symptomatic and as far as the team knows, it was only the one dog who ingested the drugs.
The other three dogs are available for adoption from the Fresno County Animal Services shelter. The cats are expected to be available for adoption next week. They are recovering from an upper respiratory infection, Begin said.
‘Heart Is Shattered’
The anguishing TikTok video brought viewers to tears, as many could not believe a family could leave their pets this way. The story had reached over 1.9 million views, 386,200 likes and 2,089 comments at the time of publication.
“That poor baby was just hungry. I can’t imagine how scared and confused he was. Thank y’all for saving him,” commented a viewer.
A second person wrote, “OMG this has taken me to a new level of anger.”
Another added: “My heart is shattered. Thank you for saving these babies. Those owners need to watch out for karma. So sick.”
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our “Pet of the Week” lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.