Walk on rural road turns dangerous after Golden Retriever ingests drugs
A Northampton man is warning dog owners after a harrowing experience near Woodstock, where his dog ingested drugs while he was walking with his dog on a rural road.
John Damman and his Golden Retriever, Pickles, were getting some exercise on the Simcox Road near Woodstock on Dec. 10. It was a beautiful sunny day, and Pickles was enjoying some off-leash time. Damman says the family often goes to that site because there are few other walkers or dogs and very little traffic in the winter. There is a private construction dumpsite nearby.
Pickles got into something before Damman could stop him.
“Clearly, from the looks of things, people continue to dump trash and other things here, which is a shame because it is a beautiful area,” he said. “I found Pickles rummaging through a bag, though I didn’t check to see what was inside. I called Pickles, and he came running back, like normal, and we carried on our walk.”
After the walk, he said Pickles was his normal self until about dinner time. The seven-year-old is usually a loveable goofball who loves people, trips to town, and his daily hikes with his human dad and the others in the family ‘pack’.
Damman said he and his wife noticed he just didn’t seem like himself.
“He was dazed, and instead of staring at you, he was more like staring through you,” said Damman.
Pickles started to sway back and forth and was having difficulty balancing. Damman said Pickles was like a canine ‘bobble head,’ and became lethargic.
Pickles is one of seven Golden Retrievers that the family owns, and once the other dogs sensed something was wrong, they stayed close and watched over him.
“It was then that we realized that this wasn’t just a tired Pickles but something was very wrong with him. We called the emergency vet phone number to find out what we should do, given it was late in the evening. The vet technician suspected he had consumed some kind of drug but wasn’t sure what kind. She suggested we take him to the Florenceville Vet Clinic.”
The staff ran blood and urine tests on Pickles to find out exactly what he had gotten into. Results showed that Pickles had tested positive for marijuana and cocaine.
Damman said the vet said this happens more than people realize.
“We personally know someone else’s dog who had something similar happen to them. Fortunately, it wasn’t meth or something that could have been fatal to Pickles or any other animal.”
Damman said it took about three days for Pickles to regain his energy. On the third day, he had to return to the vet clinic as it was clear that Pickles was in discomfort. He was told that a side effect can be extreme gas pains and not being able to go to the bathroom. He was prescribed some medications, and by day four, he was back to his normal self.
Damman said he didn’t notice any drug paraphernalia on the ground during their walk that day.
“I wasn’t even thinking that is what it could have been. Pickles is notorious for eating Tim Horton cups and anything else people just toss. I didn’t go and look at what he had gotten into and just chalked it up to him finding food or cardboard.”
Damman has some advice to offer other dog owners.
“As much as I’d like to say to keep your dogs on a leash, sometimes that isn’t possible, and hey, what dog doesn’t like to go for a good old run. Instead, I would tell people to be more considerate and not to just throw garbage where any kind of animal could get into something and potentially get very sick.”
Damman suggested that people walking bring their garbage back to their cars and dispose of it immediately.
“We consider ourselves lucky that this wasn’t serious but I would love for the community to be respectful of our trails and walking roads and paths. If you do unfortuantely find your pet getting into something, get help right away. You know your pet better than anyone and if they aren’t acting right , seek help right away.”
He said they were lucky that Pickles bounced back fairly quickly.
“It’s a shame that we have such beautiful trails and walking areas, and some people just think it’s their own personal garbage dump,” said Damman.
