The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) has officially hit a significant milestone— they recently marked the four millionth case of potential toxicity since the APCC’s inception nearly 45 years ago. The APCC operates a 24-hour hotline all year long that serves as a critical and trusted resource for pet parents and veterinarians nationwide in keeping animals safe and healthy. In 2021, the APCC call volume increased more than 22%, assisting animals of all sizes and species across all 50 states, with cases ranging from gardening products to essential oil toxicity.

“For decades, veterinarians and pet owners have relied on the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center for critical information to make sure pets receive immediate and effective care when they are exposed to potentially toxic substances,” said Matt Bershadker, ASPCA CEO. “This four million case milestone reflects not only the deep expertise of the APCC staff, but also a level of compassion and commitment by pet owners that we’re proud to acknowledge and support.”

Established in 1978, the APCC is the only facility of its kind and is staffed by 70 veterinarians, including 11 board-certified veterinary toxicologists, 100 certified veterinary technicians and 13 veterinary assistants. The APCC has developed a sophisticated veterinary database system called AnTox™ that helps identify and characterize toxic effects of substances in animals and enables the ASPCA to collect more patient data than any other veterinary toxicology medical record system in the world.

In addition to responding to calls from veterinarians, shelters and pet parents, APCC staff provide toxicology and veterinary consulting services to industry, agriculture and government clients on a wide array of subjects including legal cases, formulation issues, product liability and regulatory reporting. APCC veterinarians also conduct retrospective data research on past cases to better understand toxicity risks and impact in pets, and in 2021 made a groundbreaking discovery that the toxic component in grapes is tartaric acid, which has been unknown to the veterinary community for more than 20 years.

We are happy to celebrate this important milestone and are looking forward to helping even more pets and people in need in the coming year.