Pups high on THC pack emergency clinics

[The Straight Story]

AUBURN, Wash. -- Since the legalization of recreational marijuana, emergency clinic veterinarians have reported an increase in animal THC toxicity.

In a busy month, they can treat up to 30 new cases.

"A busy week, I've seen 10-12 cases," said Dr. Nathanial Stewart of Pacific Avenue Animal Hospital. "I saw a Beagle once that ate an entire zip-lock baggie full of marijuana buds."

Last week, 14-week old "Monkus" arrived at Affordable Animal Emergency Clinic in Auburn.

"Lying in her own vomit, shaking," her owner Aleah Helmbrecht explained. "Her eyes were bright red...She was wobbly and couldn't stand up right."

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/03/14/6410973/

[Auntie Bush]

1. This is awful....so many sick people!

I wonder how many poor dogs have died?

[shenmue]

2. Of course

It's terrible that some morons think this is fun to do to an animal. They forget that the body chemistry of every species is different.

[Maedhros]

5. This is usually the result of dogs finding the owner's stash and eating it,

not an intentional dosing of the dog.

More a case of stupidity than maliciousness.

[shenmue]

6. Okay, but people should still be cautious.

Store your pot like you would store cleaners. Securely.

[Maedhros]

9. Absolutely.

You wouldn't let your dog into your liquor cabinet, don't let them get into your marijuana.

[LeftyMom]

18. Beagles will get into anything that smells like food.

You can identify a beagle owner by the Rube Goldberg contraption keeping their kitchen trash secure.

[Aerows]

25. And the backup Rube Goldberg contraption

just in case.

[Warpy]

31. Sick? Just careless

Publicizing this will get people to store their buds in jars instead of baggies, maybe.

[Raine]

3. DISGUSTING .... anyone who does this needs to be charged with animal cruelty! nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. From the video it sounds more like the dog got into it on her own

than that the owners fed it to her. That was what it was about - people should keep their pot and their pot brownies away from dogs. There was no reference to anyone feeding it deliberately (though I suppose that might happen too).

[OnyxCollie]

7. I'm guessing this was unintentional.

Legal or not, I'm wouldn't give my stash to the dog.

[Feral Child]

8. I'm doubting this.

As far as I know, cannabis is not psychoactive by ingestion. You have to cook it in a lipid to release THC orally.

True, dog digestion is quite different than human, but I seriously doubt a dog will get sick from eating reefer, anymore than the normal vomiting they do with eating lawn grass.

Maybe one of our vets can weigh in on that.

I have heard of dumbasses thinking it's a LUL to shotgun their pooches, but I would think a dog would jerk away from the stinging fumes, their delicate noses reject any smoke. Seriously, it's an effort of will to down that 1st toke for humans and is invariably followed by gagging and spasmodic coughing. Could be, though. I'll never know for certain, I would react violently to witnessing any kind of mistreatment of an animal.

This is interesting, thanks for sharing.

[mrs_p]

10. It is toxic to dogs and cats

We routinely have seizuring dogs in our emergency room from intoxication.

http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/marijuana/

[Feral Child]

11. Thanks!

I personally am very careful. I'd cry real tears if I spilt such a substance whilst attempting to consume it.


Seriously, I did not know this and will be very careful not to allow my doggie to consume any green-vegetative-material-resembling-cannabis..

[mrs_p]

13. Most of the time dogs

can get over it. Like you said, GI upset. But there have been cases of death. Usually dogs get into edibles that have other toxins in them (like chocolate). Just store away like any other drug you have.

[CBGLuthier]

12. Did it kill any of them? Because my dog died when she ate sugarless bubble gum.

The chemical that they put in it killed her within a few hours. This seems like part of some bullshit propaganda to me.

Does anyone really believe there are THAT many MORE people smoking cannabis JUST because it is legal? As if everyone suddenly thinks hey WTF its OK now. I would be surprised if there is a 10 percent rise in use.

Responsible people keep their things put up and hopefully will do so.

[mrs_p]

14. Yes. There have been cases of death

By confirmed marijuana toxicity. Xylitol, what's in sugarless gum, is very toxic. It is also found in some candy and gummy vitamins. I am so sorry you lost your friend to it. 😞

[hedgehog]

15. I would expect that many people smoked during their college years, then

quit when the risk of jail loomed larger. I would imagine that many of these people went out to buy some cannabis to see if it was as good as they remembered.

Of course, I could be totally wrong. It would be interesting to find out if cannabis use has risen or stayed the same before and after legalization.

I have seen the claim that more people will use cannabis if it's legal, like that's a bad thing. I don't use, I've never used, but I've seen no proof that legal cannabis use is a bad thing. I do know that jailing people for cannabis use is a bad thing.

[Generic Other]

16. Since Washington has yet to open a single store

I have to wonder why so many more pets are suddenly getting sick.

I think the state is hoping to delay implementation forever.

[frylock]

19. good point

[Aerows]

22. Seems like propaganda to me

The crowd that profits from illegal drugs is ever going to seek to scare the public to protect those profits.

[Comrade Grumpy]

27. The state is not delaying implementation; the stores are coming.

They just issued the first licenses a few days ago

[Generic Other]

30. Meanwhile Colorado is giving tax rebates from all the profits

We are one slow state.

[frylock]

17. a cat would never do that

[Aerows]

21. Cats don't eat things that they don't like

If you have a dog, in some ways you have to regard it as having a small child because anything you do, a dog will eventually try to imitate it, if it can, because of the pack instinct. A cat would just pass it by, or shred it because it wasn't catnip.

[REP]

24. Yeah they would

I had this ... friend ... whose cat fucking loved eating weed. Hiding it from her took a lot of doing because the cat was really determined. If she got sick from it, she hid it from me I mean my friend really well.

She also loved any kind of mint, which makes sense since catnip is a mint, but you'd have to be careful eating an Altoid around her.

[frylock]

29. hunh..

I once had this friend who knew a guy that heard this story about this other person's roommate. the roommate had a cockatiel that became rather fond of seeds, as this was in the 90's and schwag, I believe that's the term I heard some kids use, was really all that was available at the time, not that I'd know, mind you. in any case, whenever the roommates would partake, the cockatiel would climb out of his cage, walk across the floor, and climb up on the coffee table to get at those seeds. the bird also really loved the cheese from Taco Bell. would do the same thing whenever Taco Bell was brought into the apartment.

[REP]

33. That actually makes sense - birds are nuts for seeds

I am shuddering in horror imagining my chickens finding a bunch of shake ...

[hollowdweller]

20. I had a dog get attacked by a rottweiler

about 15 years ago. She was an outside dog and kept ripping out her stitches she was so hyper a border collie.

I had to keep her inside and she was going crazy. She had been so tore up she had to have a drain.

I kept her knocked out by feeding her about 1/3 pot brownie every day before I went to work.

She slept all day, healed fine and was good.

So is the poisioning depending on the dose or was my dog ok because she got pot that was cooked.

[Sunlei]

34. it's the dose. I predict doggie 'thunderstorm fear' meds (tm) made with a little THC if,

marijuana ever gets decriminalized in the USA.

[LeftyMom]

35. You're lucky the chocolate didn't kill her.

[mrs_p]

36. There is a toxic dose for both the

chocolate and the marijuana she received. I figure your border collie was about 20 kgs, so would have to have had approx 60 grams (lethal dose is 3 g per kg) to kill her. The brownies probably didn't have enough theobromine (the toxin in chocolate) to have harmed her either. She may have had some GI upset. As a member of vet med, I would not risk it. But then I see the worst cases.

[Warren DeMontague]

23. Well, we better start arresting pot smokers, again!

Or something.

[tabasco]

26. People are assholes. n/t

[Tom Ripley]

28. Won't anyone think of the puppies???!!!

[Sunlei]

32. animals get really sedated by pot. I think a whole zip-lock full of buds would sedate most peope!

I know some horse trainers that use a little bud as a calmative & as mare-calm, it works! a little, not a bale of pot like the beagle eating the entire stash!

[Jackpine Radical]

37. I just wonder if Salmon can come up with some pics…

[The Midway Rebel]

38. We had a Schnauzer that LOVED to eat weed.

Several times people made the mistake a shoving the dope tray under a couch that had a high bottom she could shimmy under. Sophie could not resist the diggety-dank. The first time I thought my brother stole my weed and the dog was dying. She whined and convulsed. I finally put two and two together and came up with stoned ass dog. She survived to do at least two more times, once in her really old age. That last time she laid on her back and kicked her legs for two days. Sophie died of old age and kidney failure.

Some people treat their pets with cannabis medicine.