Having an addiction means going to desperate measures to ensure you get your hands on drugs. Some would even go as far as to harm their pets in hopes of acquiring painkillers for their pets to really use for themselves. It is important that veterinarians see the sign of opioid addiction in their patient’s owners before making prescriptions or they can unknowingly contribute to the opioid crisis.

There are pet owners who will tell their vets that their pet is in pain for the purpose of acquiring prescription painkillers. They normally will ask for the drug like name like Tramadol, Xanax, and Valium. According to American Veterinarian, pet owners have used excuses like their pills have all spilled on the floor or physically harm their pets to make the excuse of their need for pain medicine to be real. The Washington Post in 2016 reported that a pet owner had his Boxer go to six vets for anti-anxiety pills and painkillers before getting caught and charged with prescription fraud. In Kentucky in 2014, a pet owner cut her golden retriever twice with a razor blade for prescription drugs. In the early 2000s, a man in Ohio even taught his dog how to cough on cue to have a vet prescribe to him hydrocodone.

Veterinarians have a responsibility just like human doctors to report any suspicious activities with the pet owners of their patients. Vets are to notify the authorities of the met criteria if a patient comes in and has a reason to leave with opioids. Vets need to find other ways to manage a pet’s pain. There are state-by-state PDMP charts that veterinarians can look at that summarizes state laws and regulations.  They also earn to what extent they participate in prescription drug monitoring programs as well to report and search the database when they need to. There is also continuing education charts to help educate on specific provisions in regards to opioids.

In New Jersey, the initial opioid prescription for animals is normally a five day supply. Pharmacies report prescription data with 14 other states. Nine other states, including New York and Massachusetts, limit their pill supply by seven days or less. Veterinarians hold a responsibility to report if a pet owner is harming their pet all to support their opioid addiction and to make sure that the animal is the one receiving their medication to feel better.

Located in Tacoma, Washington, Bayview Center’s mission is to offer clinically-driven programs and services to treat a number of substance abuse disorders along with anxiety and depression using cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, trauma therapy, yoga therapy, and more for a successful recovery. For more information, please call us 888 570 7154 at as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.