Golden Retriever survives massive phenobarbital overdose after emergency intervention

Earlier this spring, toxicology experts with Pet Poison Helpline and a team at Animal Emergency and Specialty Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, helped save a Golden Retriever who ingested a near-fatal quantity of phenobarbital tablets while her owners were away from home.

The dog, named Lucy, belonged to Allison White of Knoxville, Tennessee. While the family was out, Lucy accessed a 90-day supply of phenobarbital that had recently been refilled for a visiting dog with a seizure disorder. The medication had been accidentally left on the counter. Upon returning home, White's son found Lucy unresponsive on the back porch in 50-degree Fahrenheit weather. The family transported her to an emergency veterinary facility and contacted Pet Poison Helpline.¹

“We were watching my Dad's dog, who has seizures that are controlled with phenobarbital tablets," White said in a Pet Poison Helpline news release.¹ "We had just refilled the 90-day prescription, and we thought we had put the pills away, but they were accidentally left on the counter. While we were out...Lucy jumped up on the counter, chewed open the container and ate all of the pills. When we got home, she didn't greet us inside.”

"Lucy ingested a massive overdose of phenobarbital, and she was physically on the brink of death when she arrived at the hospital," said Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT, a senior veterinary toxicologist and director of veterinary medicine at Pet Poison Helpline.¹

Phenobarbital is a barbiturate medication primarily used to treat and prevent seizures in humans and animals with epilepsy. It works by reducing activity in the brain and nervous system.

Presentation and initial stabilization

Lucy arrived at Animal Emergency and Specialty Center in Knoxville unresponsive. Her heart rate was low, her body temperature was too low to read, and blood pressure could not be obtained. The medical team intubated her, initiated supportive warming measures, and administered rapid intravenous fluid therapy to address her hypotension.¹

A gastric lavage was performed, but no tablets were recovered from stomach contents, indicating that the medication had been ingested several hours prior and had likely already been absorbed systemically, explained Pet Poison Helpline.¹

"If the Whites had not started the medical treatment process immediately after finding Lucy unresponsive, and just waited to see what would happen, she would have surely died from such a massive amount of phenobarbital," Schmid said.¹ "Their quick action was definitely the first critical step in this lifesaving process."

Hospital course

Over the following four days, the clinical team at Animal Emergency and Specialty Center and toxicologists at Pet Poison Helpline collaborated on an evolving treatment plan. According to Pet Poison Helpline, after Lucy’s temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate were stabilized, she developed a secondary infection or inflammatory reaction that caused a dangerous rise in body temperature, requiring active cooling measures and additional medical management.

White described the outcome as unexpected given Lucy's initial condition. "I did not think she would survive," she said.¹ "Everyone involved in the process of saving Lucy was amazing, and now she's back to her normal hungry self."

Medication storage and safety

Schmid used the case to emphasize the importance of safe medication handling in households with multiple pets or visiting animals. "Many of our calls involve pets who have either been given other household pet's medications by accident or have gotten into human and pet medications that the pet owner thought was secure," she said in the release.¹

She advised storing all medications in a designated location, keeping human and animal medications separate, and ensuring that prescriptions belonging to visiting pets are secured out of reach of resident animals.

"Lucy's case is a perfect reminder that all medications and other potentially toxic items should be stored out of reach of pets and children," Schmid said.¹

Reference

1. Golden Retriever in Coma After Massive Phenobarbital Overdose. News release. Pet Poison Helpline. March 18, 2026. Accessed May 20, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/golden-retriever-in-coma-after-massive-phenobarbital-overdose-302716345.html