Chihuahua overdoses at South Carolina motel, owners arrested: police report

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The owners of a 15-pound chihuahua have pleaded guilty to charges after the dog allegedly overdosed on heroin and cocaine at a motel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to police documents.

Myrtle Beach police charged Shane Harris and Serrena Young with mistreatment of an animal after the May 27 incident at the Palmetto Vista Motel. Young was also charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin. They were both taken to the Myrtle Beach Jail.

According to a police report, a Myrtle Beach firefighter gave the dog Narcan, the opioid-reversal medication, using a nebulizer machine after a home health aide who had been with Harris and Young at the motel brought it to the fire station.

The dog received a full nasal dose of Narcan, and after it was revived, it was given oxygen and taken to the Animal Emergency Hospital of the Strand for further care, a police report said.

Harris, who accompanied the health aide to the fire station, allegedly told authorities that a man came to his motel and left about one gram of heroin on a table and that the dog ate it and became ill.

Police then went to the motel and met with Young, the report said.

While executing a search warrant, detectives say they found a syringe with clear, brown-tinted liquid in a black purse in the bathroom, which later tested positive for heroin and cocaine.

Young admitted to officers that the syringe was hers, the police report shows.

Court records show Harris pleaded guilty to abandonment or mistreatment of an animal, was sentenced to 15 days in jail, and owes more than $1,000 in fines. Young also pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 15 days in jail and more than $700 in fines.