# 60-lb dog just ate 20mg of atovarstatin! How dangerous? (Need answer fast)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 26, 2016, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919 "2016-09-26T11:49:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2016, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/1 "2016-09-26T11:49:30Z")
We have phone calls in to ASPCA, vets. [Atorvastatin - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atorvastatin)
Anti-cholesterol.
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2016, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/2 "2016-09-26T12:13:46Z")
ASPCA: stomach irritation. Possible vomit/diarrhea. Nothing else. $65 phone call, FTR.
I’ll leave this thread up (i.e. not ask a mod to zap it) for future reference, comments, anecdotes, jokes about diet and hard arteries, etc.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2016, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/3 "2016-09-26T12:13:46Z")
Any time one of our dogs _possibly_ ate something _possibly_ toxic, assuming the ingested material wasn’t corrosive or oily, I just induce vomitting.
We keep H2O2 and a 20 ml syringe on hand for situations like this. Induce vomitting, then call.
Lipitor 20 mg is a low-end human dose (I used to take 40 mg a day). My money is on “no biggie” for a 60 pound dog.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2016, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/4 "2016-09-26T12:18:47Z")
I’m glad your dog should be okay.
Over the weekend I had to use foam carpet spray to clean an area of the living room rug. When I went into the kitchen to get a wet rag to scrub it in, I heard slurping noises from the living room, which was our Labrador snacking on the foam.
She seems to be alright. :smack:
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2016, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/5 "2016-09-26T12:30:54Z")
OP here. [Gushy stuff coming…] Not for the first time (my own physical and psychic hard time moments come to mind) I realize again that SD is important to me for the _actual people_ I sort of know INotRL, who know _me_, somehow, enough to look into my threads and take part in conversation after conversation, joke after joke, over the years, and just seeing their usennames gives me pleasure and involvement.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/6 "2016-09-26T15:20:02Z")
Veterinary advice, like medical advice, is best suited to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/7 "2016-09-26T15:54:16Z")
$65 phone call?
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/8 "2016-09-26T16:05:59Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#):
>
> $65 phone call?
[The ASPCA has a poison control hotline](http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control)staffed, IIRC, by a veterinary toxicologist. You use a credit card to pay for the call.
> [@](#):
>
> The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) is your best resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you think your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call (888) 426-4435. A $65 consultation fee may be applied to your credit card.
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### Author:  [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/9 "2016-09-27T00:15:29Z")
I know the internet is not the most reliable source, but I did a search for “animal toxicity with atorvastatin” and got the same advice you got from the ASPCA poison line but for free and within 30 seconds.
Specifically this link [What to do if your dog eats Lipitor](https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwje_rr3n67PAhXBLSYKHQ5aBHAQFggzMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.petplace.com%2Farticle%2Fdrug-library%2Flibrary%2Fmedication-toxicities%2Fwhat-to-do-if-your-dog-eats-lipitor-(atorvastatin)-medication&usg=AFQjCNFsrcFrGCP5IXrFARL0z8e_gyl26A&sig2=_NE6nBkUHeJ01viPlkm8qQ)
I’m actually pleased to see this question. I take Lipitor and have two dogs. I know one of them would quite likely eat anything she could find on the floor that looks vaguely as though it may be food, including little white pills! The pill dosage is 20mg and her weight is 36kg so similar to your situation.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2016, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/10 "2016-09-27T12:00:10Z")
Re: Atovorstatin.
Although my “numbers” we’re always excellent, following a MI and stent placement my cardiologist suggest Lipitor for the first year. I stayed on it an additional year, although I had frequent muscle cramps/pain.
I stopped taking the statin a few weeks ago and feel much, much better. Wish I stopped a year ago.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2016, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/11 "2016-09-27T12:03:37Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#):
>
> $65 phone call?
It’s actually a good deal. We used it a few years back for a fairly obscure potential toxin. The $65 included the initial call, two follow-ups, then a consult with our veterinarian to bring him up to speed.
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/12 "2016-09-27T15:33:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> It’s actually a good deal. We used it a few years back for a fairly obscure potential toxin. The $65 included the initial call, two follow-ups, then a consult with our veterinarian to bring him up to speed.
Yes, I use it sometimes for my kids, since it’s cheaper than a pediatrician. You just have to be a little vague with them. “I have a 35-pound primate who ate a tube of glitter at school… I mean, obedience class…”
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### Author:  [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-lb-dog-just-ate-20mg-of-atovarstatin-how-dangerous-need-answer-fast/766919/13 "2016-09-28T21:54:25Z")
I had a dog eat a whole container of heartworm pills. I bought them from an Australian website. I called them, and the woman was great - contacted the manufacturer, got right back with me and called back the next day to make sure the dog was doing okay. And gave me a discount on my replacement bottle.
StG