“Oh no! What are they eating?”… the dreaded words every dog owner hates to hear. Then, frantically, you yell at your dog to drop whatever they have decided looks like a tasty treat, before rushing to fetch it from their jaws.
My dog Tilly was just 4 months and 5 pounds when we caught her eating a joint that had fallen off a table. I screeched and went into an absolute panic. Tilly had always been curious about weed (or as she would call it, the “Scooby Doobies”) and she enjoyed the smell of it.
I knew that people couldn’t get high by eating weed without fat (i.e butter, cheese), but I had remembered hearing that THC (the main psychoactive compound in marijuana) affected dogs differently. I had also heard stories of dogs eating pills or drugs at parties and getting violently ill and passing away, so I took this very seriously.
Various negative scenarios were running through my mind and all I knew was that we needed to get her checked out quickly. It was late at night and our regular vet was closed so we called the emergency vet.
“Is this an emergency or can you hold?” The receptionist questioned.
“IT’S AN EMERGENCY!” I barked back.
“Okay, what’s going on?” She said, calmly.
“My 4 month old Yorkshire Terrier just ate a joint and I’m not sure what to do. Is she going to get really sick, really high, or worse?”
The helpful receptionist suggested bringing her in so the vets could take a look at her and induce vomiting. I felt like a terrible dog mom. How could I allow my little puppy to ingest something that could harm her? Why was there even a joint so close to the edge of the table? How long had she been eating it before we found her?
My sister and I drove to the emergency vet which was about 20 minutes away, me on the verge of a panic attack the whole way there. Luckily, Tilly seemed fine during the ride, the weed had not affected her yet. We pulled up to the vets and thankfully they were ready to grab our puppy and bring her inside for proper care and treatment.
This was during the height of COVID and we were not allowed inside the building so my sister and I sat in the parking lot waiting to hear from the vet, both feeling anxious, discussing how we could prevent this from happening again.
Some Tips and Products to Help Keep Weed Away From Your Dog Friends:
- Keep your cannabis stored in high to reach places (i.e cupboards)
- Invest in a smell-proof container for storage *Like this one*
- Put your joints in small tins to prevent them from rolling off a table *Like these*
After what felt like forever, the vet called us and said that they were able to induce vomiting and that it definitely smelled like cannabis so it’s likely they got most of it out of her system. I was so relieved. The vet also mentioned that she wasn’t the first puppy of the night to come in for weed consumption and that it happens multiple times a day. He mentioned that Tilly could still show signs of being high, but it wouldn’t be too bad because she threw up a lot of it. The symptoms of a “stoned dog” he mentioned were:
Symptoms of Cannabis (THC) in Dogs
– wobbly head
– startled easily
– drooling
– urine leakage
– lethargy
– disorientation
Tilly experienced most, if not all of those symptoms and she had gotten a lot of the weed out of her system… a whopping $300 later. I do not regret spending the money to bring her in because I cannot even fathom the thought of her not being okay and the guilt we would have felt afterwards.
We were so grateful that she was back to normal the next morning, like nothing happened at all. We have been extra careful since that experience and to be honest, she doesn’t seem to even care for the scent of weed anymore. She seems to have gotten her “Scooby Dooby” fix and luckily, it hasn’t happened again. Now, we can find humour in the situation and sometimes jokingly ask her if she remembers the time she ate a joint, but of course she does not… as cannabis negatively affects memory.
I was shocked to learn that multiple dogs are brought in daily for weed consumption, but when I remember how easily it happened to us, it’s really not that surprising. It is important to keep weed out of reach and if you notice any suspicious activity, it’s best to take your dog to the vet where they can induce vomiting and keep an eye out for any complications. Remember, it’s not “just weed” when it comes to dogs, it affects them differently and could potentially be lethal.
*click here for more information if your dog has ingested or inhaled weed*
