JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a disturbing trend, pet owners in some parts of the country who are desperate for painkillers are injuring their animals to steal the pet's drugs, veterinarians say.
In one case in Kentucky, a 23-year-old injured her dog with a razor to get pain medication.
Vets said the red flag was that the wounds were clean cuts instead of jagged, like a traditional animal injury.
Unfortunately, it wasn't an isolated incident.
Veterinarians said people can go to extreme lengths to get high once they become addicted to painkillers. But there are no regulations or tracking protocol on where animal medications go once they're prescribed.
Vets said they are watching for red flags, such as pet owners coming back days after an animal was prescribed medication saying the pet needs more.
Veterinarians cannot legally prescribe medication to just anybody's animal if they don't have an established relationship to determine the animal's condition.
But vets said that's not enough to stop the potentially growing problem.