Pet-heads, part II

Catnip was last week’s topic, a plant with some interesting and at times entertaining effects on cats and even dogs. Today, we look at the impacts of marijuana on pets. While not entirely risk-free, both immediate serious problems and long-term complications are rare when it comes to pot and pets. However, just as any reasonable person who enjoys a few glasses of wine or a shot of bourbon knows not to feed alcohol to cats and dogs so, too, should weed not be offered in any form to our animals. Symptoms of accidental inhalation (smoke) or ingestion (edibles) include agitation and other manifestations of anxiety, panting, drooling, trembling or jerking of the head and limbs. Pets suffering from marijuana toxicity may lose bowel or bladder control, or show signs of extreme lethargy. None of that is fun for our dogs or cats.

There appears to be some increased risk of death with the newer, medical grade strains of pot but that still remains extremely rare. Exposure to second-hand smoke doesn’t seem to be much of a concern, but our animals do have very sensitive respiratory systems and smoke of any kind (pot, tobacco) can lead to coughs or even asthma-like conditions. The big problem is if an animal consumes large amounts of pot. In that instance, do not hesitate: immediately contact your veterinarian (or, if after hours, one of the emergency vet hospitals). Keep in mind that your animal does not know to distinguish that pot-laced cookie from a normal but less risky treat left on the counter.

As for medical potential, there’s simply not enough information available to validate some perhaps overly optimistic claims of pot as a suitable treatment of animal pains and illnesses. There’s a raging debate on both sides of this issue, but the scientific jury is still out. And since Fido and Fluffy can’t “just say no” for themselves, the responsible pet owner needs to keep his stash safely away from pets.

Ken White is the president of the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA.