Birds Rescued After Overdosing on Prescription Pills Dumped at Southern California Park

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It was a shocking sight on two fronts.

First, someone had inexplicably dumped hundreds of prescription pills on the grounds of Carr Park in Huntington Beach, where children play and animals roam. Second, a Canadian goose that apparently ingested some of the medications lay feet up in the grass.

On Monday, Dec. 17, a good Samaritan who spotted the sick bird called Orange County Animal Control, which in turn contacted the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center. Both the goose and another ailing bird, a ring-billed gull, have spent the week recuperating there.

“The two patients are on the road to recovery,” said Lisa Peronne, wildlife manager for the Huntington Beach center.

The victims are undergoing intravenous flushing to detoxify their bodies, Peronne said.

“We expect to release the goose the day after Christmas at Central Park,” she said. “The smaller bird will take a little longer.”

They came to the center with a host of health problems, Peronne said, including lack of muscle control and neurological ticks. The goose was unable to stand.

“It’s hard to say whether they would have died without intervention, but that’s likely the case,” Peronne said. Even if they naturally could bounce back from the drug overdose, she said, “their condition opened them up to secondary dangers, such as not being able to get away from predators.”

The pills apparently were a mix of sedatives and other medications. Huntington Beach Police Officer Angie Bennett said the incident is under investigation.

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