Veterinarians are advising pet owners to be vigilant about their surroundings after a little Chihuahua was sickened from a possible cannabis-infused edible it ate at a B.C. dog park.
Michelle Tuan says she took her Chihuahua-cross named “Dorito” to the Leigh Dog Park in Coquitlam, B.C. on Wednesday. Several hours after the visit, Tuan said she noticed her pet behaving strangely.
“When I went to go pick him up, he was whimpering and crying out like he was injured,” she recalled to CTV Vancouver on Friday.
Tuan said she grabbed a treat and tried to coax her dog to walk over to her.
“His whole body was kind of like curved,” she said. “[He] was sort of walking almost sideways towards me. I don’t know how old he is because he is a rescue dog and I thought maybe he was having a stroke.”
Dorito didn’t in fact suffer a stroke, but it may have ingested cannabis. That’s according to the veterinarian Tuan brought her dog to the day after the visit to the dog park.
Tuan said the veterinarian told her that Dorito had tested positive for THC, the psychoactive ingredient found in cannabis, and the dog likely ate a pot-infused edible left behind at the fenced-in park.
Veterinarian Fraser Davidson said his clinic has noticed an increase in dogs coming in regularly that have ingested marijuana. He said the main symptoms for dogs include stumbling, not responding, and falling over.
“Fortunately the signs, while they’re disturbing, don’t tend to be life-threatening,” he explained. “It’s more just the animals going through a miserable time. I think the public just need general education that it’s not just children that are at risk.”
Tuan said her dog was given a charcoal solution to remove the THC from its system. Although Dorito is feeling much better, Tuan said she’s still shaken from the incident.
“I don’t think we’ll be going back to a dog park for a long time,” she said.
