Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with seizures caused by citalopram poisoning and abuse by faking
By van Herwijnen, Ineke R et al.·Published in Forensic science international·2026·Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Case report - Animal abuse by condition falsification in a dog with epileptic seizures caused by citalopram poisoning.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A young dog was brought in for frequent seizures, which raised concerns due to the dog's age and the history of similar issues with other dogs in the household. After the dog sadly passed away, a post-mortem examination revealed that the seizures were caused by poisoning from citalopram, a medication. This case highlights the serious issue of animal abuse through condition falsification, where a caretaker may harm an animal to gain sympathy or attention. It's crucial for veterinarians to consider such possibilities and conduct toxicology tests when they suspect abuse, to protect pets from unnecessary suffering.
People also search for: dog seizures young age · citalopram poisoning in dogs · signs of animal abuse in pets
Abstract
Animal abuse by condition falsification so far has received little scientific attention. This particular form of animal abuse is characterized by an animal caretaker's infliction of harm to an animal by feigning a condition with the purpose to get attention or sympathy from others, such as veterinary personnel. We report the case of a young dog with early onset and recurrent epileptic seizures in which post-mortem examination revealed citalopram poisoning. Red flags were in the early onset of the seizures in this dog in combination with previous dogs from the household also suffering epileptic seizures. This case report highlights the importance of considering animal abuse by condition falsification and the relevance of toxicological testing in suspected cases, as to prevent animal suffering and untimely death.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41903393/