Doping in pets and the veterinary response.

The number of incidents of dogs ingesting pot, intentionally or unintentionally, is on the rise. Many veterinary hospitals have seen canine patients with marijuana or THC toxicity in the past year or two and some practices see cases much more frequently in New York. THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is the chemical in marijuana that is responsible for psychological or “high” effects. Veterinarians and animal hospital staff are in the business of keeping pets healthy and addressing their medical needs. So, when a dog or cat comes to the hospital after consuming or inhaling pot, the interest is not in who owned the marijuana . Veterinary staff are not police and are not in the business of sleuthing out any details other than any information about the possibility of the pet being exposed to pot and if it was in a baked good that contained chocolate. Veterinary staff don’t need to know any other details from owners about the pot and are grateful when pet owners indicate that this may be a cause of the pets’ behavior. How a pet happens to eat or inhale pot is as varied as the number of dogs that have eaten marijuana or inhaled quantities of smoke. A baggie may be an appealing chew toy, a joint or cigarette can be a curiosity and food containing pot is an immediate attraction to many dogs. Cats do not seem to be as attracted and cases of cats consuming pot in any form are much less frequent, although many of their symptoms are similar to those in dogs. Once a dog has consumed pot, symptoms may start showing within 15 minutes or can take an hour or two. Many dogs will initially begin to have some difficulty with balance when walking, tilt their heads, bark or whine and become anxious or hyperactive. They may have some twitching that can look like small seizures. For a veterinarian who is unaware of the possibility that the pet has eaten pot, these symptoms can mean many things. During a triage physical, a veterinarian will also see dilated pupils, decreased respiration, low heart rate, lethargy, nausea, hypersensitivity to stimuli and vomiting. Dogs rely so heavily on their senses of smell, sight and hearing, the effects they have from ingesting pot are much different from humans. Dogs on marijuana are seldom relaxed and euphoric-looking, as their dependable senses are altered and they have no concept of why or what is happening to them. Where pot has an anti-nausea effect on humans, the opposite is often true for dogs. The following two scenarios may help give pet owners a view of two possible care plans for a dog with marijuana poisoning: A family is settling down to an evening of television when their young, previously healthy dog suddenly becomes very wobbly on his feet, is stumbling and can’t seem to settle down. When the owners try to hold the dog, his head keeps twitching to one side. The dog does not seem to be responding to their voices. On the way to the vet practice, the dog starts to retch and falls over, unable to keep his balance in the car At the animal hospital, after an emergency assessment, the veterinarian considers a possible seizure, neuro-toxins, brain injury and epilepsy along with many other possibilities. Blood is drawn and in-house blood panels are run while an intravenous catheter is placed. The blood panel comes back normal, so fluid therapy is started after an ultrasound is performed. An ECG and blood pressure monitors are attached to follow heart activity due to depressed heart rate. Flow-by oxygen is supplied due to decreased respiration. The dog is restless and acting erratically with its head dipping, and it begins cowering and frantically trying to hide. The veterinarian speaks with the owners again about the possibility that their dog might have consumed something he should not have, and they answer “no.” Inducing vomiting is next until the dog empties his stomach contents, which reveal that there is a substance that might look like marijuana and have a distinctive odor. This is followed with anti-vomiting medication and then getting the dog to ingest a large amount of liquid charcoal that is not pleasant to eat. An enema might be ordered next. The veterinarian returns to the owners, explaining that there is a strong possibility that the dog has consumed marijuana but, if they are certain this is not the case, additional testing can be done, including hospitalization. The owners then state that their dog may have gotten into a visiting friend’s backpack that may have contained pot. In fact they become more and more convinced that this happened for certain. Their veterinary hospital trip took three to four hours and their bill was anywhere from hundreds of dollars to more than $1,000. Now look at the exact same scenario up until arriving at the veterinary hospital. As initial assessment is underway, the owners explain that a friend was visiting their home and they believe that their dog may have eaten some marijuana that was inside the friend’s backpack. The veterinarian induces vomiting in the dog and observes remnants of pot. An anti-vomiting medication is given and the owners are asked to sit with their dog in a quiet room with the lights dimmed for about an hour to help the dog, whose altered state makes it hyper-sensitive to noises and visual stimuli. Before discharging the dog to go home, respiration and heart rate are rechecked and the owners are given some home-care information. The veterinary hospital visit takes about 75 minutes and costs about $100. Recovery prognosis is usually very good, although a dog hurting itself from a fall or biting its tongue are possible complications. And, in the case of pot brownies, chocolate toxicity can be very serious. There are instances of dogs that have pre-existing heart or respiratory conditions suffering more long-term or fatal effects after consuming marijuana.continue