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Dog sick from pot edible
A neighborhood walk with their dog turned into an expensive trip to the vet for a Montgomery County family. Vets told them their Labrador had swallowed an edible with THC in it. NOTE: Some of the animals shown in FOX 5's story were NOT admitted because they ingested THC. They are only patients at the hospital.
CLARKSBURG, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A Montgomery County family's walk with their dog over the weekend turned into an expensive trip to the vet after their Labrador swallowed an edible with THC in it.
Darina Guenova told FOX 5 Wednesday that on Sunday afternoon after going for a walk with her dog Lora, the Labrador looked very ill and tired while closing her eyes and was trembling.
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"She started acting very weird and I thought maybe she had overheated," said Guenova.
Dr. Deb Deans with Bennett Creek Animal + PET Urgent Care told Guenova that her Lora had swallowed an edible with THC in it.
NOTE: Some of the animals shown in FOX 5's story were NOT admitted because they ingested THC. They are only patients at the hospital.
"The dog had eaten like a cookie or something that looked like a cookie she had seen on a walk and sure enough those are edibles that are coming in all different forms," said Deans. "Of course, our dogs are going to eat that, but the issue with our animals is they are so much more sensitive to the THC component than humans are."
FOX 5’s Ayesha Khan called various veterinary hospitals in Montgomery County, most of which didn’t report seeing an uptick but did note that similar cases are increasing across the country.
"I’ve had three in the last couple of months and one was a ferret and unfortunately it died," said Deans.
In an email response to Ayesha’s inquiry, David Handel with the Kentlands Veterinary Hospital said:
"We have not seen any cases of dogs ingesting THC containing products during their walks. We have seen multiple cases of dogs eating THC containing products that belonged to their owners. Most cases were accidental ingestion of edibles. With supportive care, all of our patients recovered."
Deans said her hospital is also seeing issues with CBD products being given to dogs.
"They are labeled 'THC free' but they’re not and all it has to be is less than .3 percent THC," she said. "So our dogs, the way they metabolize it in their fat is much more dangerous for their liver."
Lora has been getting the treatment she needs to recover but Guenova said she is still not back to being her playful self and warns parents of dogs and children to be aware so no one else gets hurt.
"Just be mindful," she said. "It was an unnecessary visit to the emergency room and the price is a completely separate ticket but it was not even something that I cost or was carelessness in my home."