Puppy rushed to vet after being exposed to meth

DES MOINES, Iowa (WFLA) — A puppy had to be rushed to a 24-hour veterinary center in Iowa this weekend after being exposed to meth.

Five-month-old Kingsley was supposed to appear in his very first dog show this weekend. But when he started acting strangely on Thursday night, his owner Matthew Palmer rushed him to the vet instead.

“Head bobbing, tremoring, agitation. Not mentally appropriate for a healthy puppy,” Dr. Leah Brass said.

Dr. Brass works at Iowa Veterinary Specialties. She wasn’t the one who examined Kingsley on Thursday night, but she tells CNN affiliate KCCI that the vet on call was able to come to a conclusion about what happened.

“He was probably exposed to amphetamine. His presenting signs were very typical for amphetamine exposure in dogs,” Dr. Brass explained.

Palmer is from Missouri, according to KCCI, but was in Des Moines for the dog show. After taking Kingsley to the vet, he decided to retrace his steps to try and figure out where his puppy could have been exposed.

“Based on the timing of the symptoms, it was likely at the hotel,” he said. 

When he examined his room at the Days Inn where he was staying, Palmer says he found a small “muffin crumb size” bit of a white powdery substance. When police tested the substance, it came back with a faint positive for methamphetamine.

There was not enough of the substance to do more testing, so police don’t know if it was legal or prescription.

Kingsley is now recovering from his exposure. Palmer says this incident will make him more diligent about making sure his animals are safe wherever he takes them.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s a sign of the times that you would have to be worried about this,” he said.