A Huddersfield dog owner has issued an urgent warning after her dog collapsed with severe cannabis poisoning after going for a walk.
Sharon Topham had set off from her Golcar home with 10-year-old springador Bella and walked up through an area known as Bunny Wood between the village of Nettleton Hill and Outlane Golf Club where Bella could have a good run.
She said: “Nothing was unusual during the walk but not long after we got back home Bella was on the settee and started howling. She then became unresponsive and started to twitch.”
Sharon and husband John lifted Bella into their car and drove her straight to West Mount Vets in West Vale.
Sharon said: “The vet examined her and then told us he was convinced it was cannabis intoxication.
“It left us really puzzled as she must have somehow come across some cannabis on the walk but we’ve no idea how.”
Bella had an injection to stop her feeling sick, was put on a drip and had to stay at the vets for the rest of the day. She was allowed home that evening even though she was still twitchy and couldn’t walk in a straight line and she didn’t really fully come round until lunchtime the following day. Thankfully she’s now fine.
Sharon added: “The vet said he had seen cannabis intoxication in dogs before and it’s becoming more common.
“It was really upsetting to see her become so ill so quickly. I’ve had dogs for 25 years and never come across anything like it before. I think it’s important to raise awareness as I didn’t even know this was a problem.”
It’s not known how Bella came across the cannabis but it could have been in soil dumped by cannabis growers, a discarded joint or even gummy sweets that people lace with cannabis.
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.
Please support Huddersfield Hub by becoming a Patron for just £4.99 a month to help continue our coverage of local news, charities, community events, entertainment, business and sport. Subscribe via the link below.
Become a patron and help Huddersfield Hub thrive, grow and spread the positivity