The Call Came from Someone Inside the Building

Veterinarian Gets Emergency Call from Fellow Employee

MINNEAPOLIS, March 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Like one of our favorite scary movies, the panicked call was coming from someone who works inside the building. They just happened to be at home with their dog at the time, dealing with a potentially poisonous mushroom.

"I knew mushrooms can be poisonous, so there was an urgent need for help."

"I had just taken my dog Suvi outside," explained Tim Forgey, client liaison at SafetyCall International. Pet Poison Helpline is a subsidiary of SafetyCall, a recognized leader in human and animal adverse event reporting and regulatory compliance services. "I hadn't noticed, but there were wild mushrooms growing in the yard. Suvi is a young, super-fast Italian Greyhound, so before I could stop her, she gobbled up a couple of mushrooms."

That was when the panic set in.

"I knew mushrooms can be poisonous, so there was an urgent need for help," Forgey continued. "Because we are sister companies with Pet Poison Helpline and often work together, I happen to know one of their veterinarians, Dr. Amanda Poldoski. I called her directly to see if she could assist, and she knew immediately where to send me to identify the variety of mushroom so she could then determine if Suvi needed treatment." Dr. Poldoski is assistant manager of Veterinary and Regulatory Affairs at Pet Poison Helpline.

Forgey contacted the recommended resource, which was able to quickly identify the mushroom.

"Within 25 minutes, two mycology experts were able to confirm that they were Hebeloma mushrooms," Forgey added. "The identification resource is not able provide an assessment or treatment recommendations, so I called back Dr. Poldoski. She was able to determine that I didn't need to take Suvi into the emergency hospital, and that I could monitor her at home."

The type of mushroom Suvi ingested, Hebeloma, is considered moderately poisonous. If eaten in too great a quantity, severe gastrointestinal distress can occur, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Fortunately, Suvi didn't consume enough of the mushroom to develop symptoms and needed no medical intervention.

"Knowing I spoke with an expert from Pet Poison Helpline gave me the peace of mind I needed," Forgey continued. "I'm confident that if I had just taken Suvi into the emergency hospital, they wouldn't have known what type of mushroom she had consumed either, and it probably would have taken hours to come to the same result. It's nice to know firsthand how our company helps panicked pet owners."

Not all people working at Pet Poison Helpline are medical experts. When the wife of one of the company's Information Technology employees had a pet emergency, she knew she couldn't just call her husband Greg. Earlier this year, she made an urgent call to Pet Poison Helpline when their miniature goldendoodle Pawmento ingested two containers of a nutrition shake containing chocolate, which happens to be number one on the Top 10 Pet Poisons of 2024.

Ingestion of too much chocolate can result in vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, elevated heart rate, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures, and possibly even death (though death is rare in pets who receive prompt and appropriate treatment). Dogs make up 95% of all chocolate calls. Luckily, Pawmento did not ingest a toxic amount, and fully recovered.

"All calls are potential emergency situations, so all calls are important to us," said Dr. Renee Schmid, a senior veterinary toxicologist and director of Veterinary Medicine at Pet Poison Helpline. "When the caller we're speaking to is a member of the Pet Poison Helpline/SafetyCall family, however, we have an instant personal connection. Staff like Greg and Tim are vital to fulfilling Pet Poison Helpline's mission of 'Saving Pets' Lives.' It's always rewarding to help one of your own."

With Pet Poison Helpline, you don't need to know someone to get the help you need for your pet. With one phone call, all pet lovers have access to immediate medical and toxicology expertise, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Pet Poison Helpline created Toxin Tails to educate the veterinary community and pet lovers on the many types of poisoning dangers facing pets, both in and out of the home. All the pets highlighted in Toxin Tails have been successfully treated for the poisoning and fully recovered.

About Pet Poison Helpline
Pet Poison Helpline®, your trusted source for toxicology and pet health advice in times of potential emergency, is available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals who require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. Per incident and subscription service options are available. We are an independent, nationally recognized animal poison control center triple licensed by the Boards of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine and Pharmacy providing unmatched professional leadership and expertise. Our veterinarians and board-certified toxicologists provide treatment advice for all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline's fee of $89 per incident includes follow-up consultations for the duration of the case. The company also offers pethelpline^(SM) and pethelplinePRO^(SM) subscription services directly to pet lovers. Based in Minneapolis, Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

Contact: Curtis Steinhoff
Pet Poison Helpline®
(602) 300-8466
csteinhoff@petpoisonhelpline.com 

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SOURCE Pet Poison Helpline