A couple wrote recently to tell us that their 12-week-old puppy had suddenly become ill, staggering and having difficulty standing. Fortunately, a close neighbour is a veterinarian and immediately diagnosed a severe reaction to ingesting cannabis.
They were stunned, as they don’t use cannabis themselves. Besides their home, the puppy had only ever been to nearby Riverfront Park for exercise, so they’re sure it must have found the cannabis there, likely as a discarded butt from a joint.
The vet, Dr. Jackie Pelot, advised the couple that she and her colleagues have been seeing an increase in dogs suffering from cannabis exposure and said that the substance is highly toxic to them because they have many more receptors for THC — the psychoactive component — in their brains. This, together with higher levels of THC in cannabis than in the past and the fact that it’s now legal, seems to be why the caseload is growing. She said that while cannabis ingestion is rarely fatal to dogs, fatalities are not unheard of.
The couple has since spoken with several nearby dog owners who have had the same distressing experience. They say they have no objections to people using cannabis but urge them not to leave traces of it anywhere a dog could conceivably come across it — such as discarded butts in a park.
Folks who use cannabis at home — especially edibles such as cookies that would be irresistible to many dogs — should also keep the danger in mind.
