Is your dog high? Here’s how to tell.
Veterinarians: ‘It’s super common,’ but could be fatal for some pets
Ceri, a 4-year-old Portuguese water dog, was running through the woods while at day care last month when she came across what she presumably believed to be a treat on the ground. Ceri ate the mysterious snack and, shortly after, stopped being able to walk and began twitching.
Ann Densmore, 81, of Cambridge, rushed to her dog’s day care, worried Ceri was becoming fatally ill. Densmore brought Ceri to the Veterinary Emergency Group on Concord Avenue in Cambridge, where the dog tested positive for large amounts of marijuana.
Densmore, who works as a speech pathologist, said that when she saw her dog’s brain scan, it appeared that Ceri was having a stroke.
“I thought that was the end of my dog, but they said, ‘No, it’s marijuana toxicity and we can get her out of this,’” Densmore said.
Dr. Elizabeth Rozanski, emergency room veterinarian at Tufts University’s Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals in North Grafton, said she frequently sees cases of “pot dog.”
“It’s super common. We see about four to five each week and it’s even more common now that marijuana is legal in Massachusetts,” Rozanski said. “We see many dogs who get into gummies or baked goods that are infused with marijuana.”
People often bake with cannabis-infused butter or cook the substance into foods like brownies. Dr. Jolene Babyak, director of Westford Veterinary Emergency and Referral Services, said that dogs are often enticed to eat snacks that are left out because they are food-driven animals. However, this can be a serious problem if the treats are infused with cannabis.
“One of our common emergencies here is dogs eating things that they shouldn’t; chocolate with cannabis in it, pot brownies, or on occasion people have the butter product in their home,” Babyak said. “Those are the incidences that are the most serious because they have the most concentrated cannabis in them.”
Dr. Kiko Bracker, director of emergency and critical care at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, said pets will display noticeable signs if they have ingested marijuana that owners can look out for. Common symptoms include: “dribbley urine,” stumbling, startling easily without stimulation, and “half-napping” while awake, according to Bracker.
Babyak said that although few dogs have died from consuming marijuana, fatality is possible if pets consume too much of the substance.
“If they eat a single gummy or a low dose for their size, we don’t worry about it, but if they’ve eaten a whole bag of gummies, a larger dose of cannabis products, then they’re going to have more side effects and it can get to a point where it can become life threatening,” Babyak said.
Dogs who are experiencing more serious symptoms can present signs of having a stroke, Rozanski said. For this reason, she urges owners to be honest about whether or not they have marijuana in their homes so veterinarians can properly treat their pets.
“Sometimes dogs can look like they are having problems inside their brain, so if the dog did get into something, that’s a reasonable thing for an owner to say to their veterinarian,” Rozanski said “Be honest, we don’t care if you have marijuana, it’s legal, but we need to know.”
Rozanski said that she mostly sees cases of cannabis ingestion in dogs and rarely cats because cats don’t like sweet food as much as dogs do.
Babyak agreed that dogs are the main culprit of stealing snacks, but added that the dog’s size and personality also play a factor into whether or not they would eat mysterious treats and how seriously THC affects them.
“This has a little bit to do with a dog’s personality, too,” Babyak said. “A lot of smaller dogs like Yorkshire terriers or chihuahuas are more discerning about what they put into their mouth. If the same gummy is dropped and a Labrador and a chihuahua eat it, the chihuahua will be more affected because of its small size.”
For Ceri, a medium-size dog, Densmore said it took almost a week for her to finally become her old self again, but not without several trips to the veterinary clinic.
“We are out of it as of today,” Densmore said last week. “The vet has had her eating chicken and rice and taking medication, and she’s actually walking around now, so we’re going to recover.”
Bracker recommends owners keep their cannabis out of reach of animals to ensure they stay safe from accidentally ingesting the substance.
“Similar to keeping it away from children, if the marijuana is physically out of the way of the pets, there will be little risk,” Bracker said. “You have to keep it up high or locked away, keep it up on the top shelf.”
Densmore said that pet owners throughout her neighborhood have been making a conscious effort to pay closer attention to what their dogs are doing while on walks or exploring outside.
“It’s really an awful thing because owners really don’t know what’s tossed on the street,” Densmore said. “I think parents should be aware of it.”