More than 95% of cases involved dogs, a disparity that does not surprise veterinarian Caroline Donaldson, an ASPCA consultant who has written about marijuana toxicity for the journal Veterinary Medicine. "Dogs eat anything and everything. It's the nature of the beast," she says.
Although canines are clearly on the front lines of the pot-versus-pet drug war, the ASPCA has documented a handful of cases involving cats, rabbits and horses. Humboldt County vet Judy Horvath once treated an iguana that fell unconscious after snacking on some buds supplied by its owner.
"We had to hook it up to an electrocardiogram to even find a heartbeat," Horvath says. The iguana came to several days later, shaken but alive.
Is it animal abuse?
Such cases bring up the question of legal responsibility. Although 12 states, including California, have decriminalized marijuana, the federal government still classifies pot alongside heroin and LSD as among the most dangerous Schedule 1 controlled substances. In addition, a 2004 California law obligates vets to report cases of animal abuse or neglect, which could include animals irresponsibly exposed to toxins.
Melissa Stallings of the California Veterinary Medicine Assn. says, "It's really up to each vet to make a common-sense call. They have to ask, does it rise to the level of abuse?" So far there have been no reported cases of a vet turning in a pet owner for pot-related abuse.
Smith sums up the feelings of many vets regarding their role in drug law enforcement. "My only concern is the animal," he says. "I don't have to be the local cop as well as the local vet."
Others feel obliged to take it further.
"A lot of times a kid will stash some pot in his room and leave the door open. In goes the dog and out goes the evidence," Haynes says. Once marijuana poisoning is established, he says he feels obligated to inform parents, if only to protect a dog with impaired short-term memory. "I've busted a lot of teenagers that way."
