Pet owners warned to stay alert after dog eats drugs discarded in park

A Prince Edward Island dog owner is warning others about the potential that pets could be exposed to drugs like marijuana and even opioids in public spaces.

John Pickard and his six-month-old Bernese mountain dog Ellie were at Upton Farmlands in Charlottetown's West Royalty neighbourhood last week when the dog got into some trash on the ground.

"Everything was good until she got into the car," Pickard said. "I got home and then she got pretty lethargic and she was tired, not eating."

He tried to wait it out, but things didn't improve overnight. "The next morning she wouldn't move. She was shallow-breathing. It wasn't great."

So he rushed Ellie to Abegweit Animal Hospital, where she was tested for toxins. "They... found out there was fentanyl and marijuana in her system."

Pickard said staff gave her naloxone, best known for reversing human overdoses due to opioids like fentanyl.

"She came around right after that," he said.

John Pickard says he wants other pet owners to be aware of what their dog could be getting into in public spaces. (Tony Davis/CBC)

As a precaution, Ellie was taken to the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI, where she was given fluids and medication and kept for supervision overnight.

The Abegweit Animal Hospital later put a post on social media to warn other pet owners about the potential for drug exposure.

Becoming more common

Across North America, there have been a number of suspected opioid overdoses in pets in recent years, according to Leigh Lamont, a veterinary anesthesiologist at the Atlantic Veterinary College.

"I do think it is important for owners to at least be aware of the possibility that they could encounter this or other potentially dangerous substances in the environment," she said.

Lamont said opioid exposure in pet dogs isn't as common as it would be in working dogs or dogs used by police forces to detect narcotics, but dog owners should still be aware of the possibility.

"We don't usually have toxicological evidence confirming that they were exposed to an opioid," she said. "But certainly the clinical signs that some of these owners have reported — along with the fact that some of these dogs have responded when given naloxone — is certainly suggestive."

One of the three parking lots at Upton Farmlands was blocked off with caution tape on Friday due to what happened to Ellie. (Tony Davis/CBC)

Dogs exposed to drugs might exhibit symptoms like sudden drowsiness, not responding to verbal commands, and not being able to stand or walk properly.

"They may get progressively weak, and that can even progress to unconsciousness in severe cases," Lamont said.

If a dog does start showing signs of opioid exposure, Lamont said that time is key, because the animal's heart rate and breathing could slow dangerously — or even stop altogether.

"We're talking about anywhere from a few minutes to 15 to 20 minutes for fentanyl that may be inhaled to have sort of its peak effects," she said. "So you really need to get that dog to a veterinarian so that naloxone or Narcan, which is the reversal drug, can be administered as soon as possible."

Leash up for safety

The Upton Farmlands, where Ellie got into the garbage, consist of a 150-acre natural area with 20 acres of off-leash space for dogs.

The land is managed by the Upton Farm Trust. Board president Heidi Hyndman said she contacted the city as soon as she found out what had happened to Ellie and "within 10 minutes, the parking lot was shut down."

Upton Farm Trust board chair Heidi Hyndman personally went to pick up garbage at the parking area after hearing about Ellie's incident. (Tony Davis/CBC)

Hyndman said she personally went to pick up garbage in the parking lot concerned — "with gloves on and a fine tooth comb" — but one of the three lots at Upton remained blocked off Friday.

She said she didn't find much debris, because much of the trash that had accumulated over the winter had been picked up during the Women's Institute clean-up in mid-May.

What remained was "a lot of cigarette butts," she said. "People throw their cigarette butts out car windows all the time, drives me crazy, but there wasn't really much trash."

Using extra caution

As a result of the incident, the board is asking all park users to keep their dogs on a leash until they are in the off-leash zone.

"Public parking lots are inherently risky for dogs," Hyndman said. "Even if it's food, chicken bones, anything like that can cause a lot of damage to a dog."

Lamont, the veterinarian, said that because dogs explore through scent, closely supervising your animal and using a leash goes a long way toward preventing drug exposure.

"Their potential to ingest or inhale something they're not supposed to is sometimes pretty high," she said. "So anything we can do to try to minimize that risk is great for the dog."

As for Pickard, he intended to keep a close eye on Ellie for the next few days, as she continues to be on medication and is recovering. He won't be letting her out of his sight on future outdoor adventures, either.

"I'll be extra cautious. I'm always nervous taking her out now, even with a leash on," he said. "I'm more aware than I ever used to be."