Hello, users of marijuana. I know that marijuana is legal, and while it's not my cup of tea, you do you. What I would implore you, however, is please please please dispose of your product properly (joints, edibles, etc.). This is coming from a concerned pet owner.
About two weeks ago, I was talking my dog for awalk and even though he was leashed the entire time, shortly after coming home, he began acting weird. He was lethargic, unsteady on his feet, he looked like he had tremors, and he wasn't eating or drinking.
I took him into the emergency vet, where they gave him activated charcoal to absorb whatever toxins might be in his body since we didn't know what he could have gotten into. As any pet owner is aware, it only takes them a split second to pick something up and swallow it, even if you did have the eyes of a hawk. We came home and I monitored him. That's all I could do at that point. It was extremely scary, and being a first time "paw"rent, I thought I was going to lose my best friend.
Then today, a friend sent me a text from a Facebook group from a lady who said that her daughter took her dog to Teapot Mountain and shortly after the hike, her dog had to go to the emergency vet exhibiting the same symptoms as my dog. It was confirmed as marijuana ingestion. To make matters worse, another person arrived at the vet at the same time who had also hiked Teapot and their dog had the same symptoms. Now I didn't hike Teapot, just my local neighborhood, but it goes to show, it can happen anywhere.
THC is toxic to dogs, and although rarely fatal, can make them very sick. Effects can vary depending on the dosage in the product as well as the animal’s size, health, age and so on. Please be responsible and dispose of joints or edibles properly, in the trash. For me, your irresponsibility cost me over $500 at the emergency vet, and I'm sure the cost gets to be a lot more depending how much was ingested and the symptoms that animal was exhibiting. And while I know there are many responsible users, it only takes the select few to sour the milk.
Again, I cannot emphasize this enough. It also goes to tobacco users as well, with all the cigarette buds on the ground, but the dangers of THC in animals is not something that can be ignored. So please think of the animals and throw those buds out properly. We won't even mention the fact that they could also start fires.
Kim Lawyer
Prince George
