Hello all, I have to tell you guys a very unfortunate event that happened this last Friday evening. I was hanging out at home with my son and Bella. I had just came back home from work at around 4 and went out in the backyard with Bella to let her go potty. After a couple of hours we were home, I noticed Bella wasn't acting like herself, she was just laying on the couch and her eyes were not focusing. She looked like she was snapping on and off, she wasn't alert. I tried to wake her, lured her with a cookie, but she didn't move. So I tried to get her up on the couch and she moved really weird, like she was robotic of some kind. Her limbs were stiff and her tongue started sticking out on the side. She shook really bad and one of her eye was twitching on and off. I thought she was having seizures, or perhaps a stroke. I called my husband and we rushed her out to the emergency vet. When we took her in, she seemed like she was a bit more alert, her tongue not sticking out on the side anymore. As soon as the Vet saw her, she asked if she was exposed to any marijuana. My husband and I looked at each other very puzzled. We don't consume and we absolutely do not have any at home!! We said no, so she asked us if we do have any compost at home that she might got into. We said we do but the bin is all closed and it would have been impossible for her to get in. Plus, I was with her the whole time she was in the backyard and I would have seen her doing that. They took Bella in for examination, and the vet confirmed what she thought it was: Marijuana intoxication. Luckily, my beloved dog recovered pretty quickly. I did not. I am so traumatized by the experience. Seeing my dog acting that way was very scary. I thought she was gonna die. Now, to the important part: how did she get a hold of marijuana if we are not consumers and don't have it at home? Well.. we just happen to have a neighbor that smokes. I've seen him, my husband has seen him. So yeah, we know he does. But also, I suspect he also sells. There are way too many people around that house, and he hangs out a lot outside and stays and talk to people a lot. When I pull in my driveway, I always get stares, whoever is out there with him, look at me until I get in my house. Anyway, I don't have any proof he sells, but he is the only person I can think of that links to marijuana use. Saturday morning I took Bella out in the backyard to go potty, and she just happened to poop right there, so I went and checked out her stool. I thought maybe I could find something that looked like a joint butt or something. I found though a chunk of green grass that looked like it was folded multiple times. You could still see where the grass had bended. I thought it was very weird that chunk of grass had that shape. Like if she swallowed a whole chunk of manually folded grass instead of grass leaves chewed up randomly. Perhaps the neighbor threw some weed hidden in that folded grass? Or is this just a coincidence and she just simply swallowed a roach that the neighbor carelessly flicked over the fence and landed in my yard? All I know is that I am so paranoid now to leave my dog out alone in the backyard unsupervised. I was planning on talking to the neighbors to explain the situation and just randomly let them understand that I don't care if they smoke as long as they keep their stuff for themselves and don't jeopardize my family, but I'm also afraid to do this. I don't want any retaliation on me or my family. Any advice will be highly appreciated. Bella's mom.
Oh dear, you poor soul and Bella too . Its a very tricky situation to be in when you don't have any actual proof to accuse them with . All you can do is to be extra vigilant , maybe take photos ( very carefully of course ) if you do see anything in your yard to see any exchanges taking place .I don't know what the law is in America re marijuana , here in the UK , its illegal to sell but a softer approach is usually taken if its for personal use only . I don't blame you for being reluctant to speak to your neighbours , you cant risk putting yourself in danger , so I guess vigilant is all you can be , so sorry for you .
Yes, I supervise her all the time I'm home and let her go potty. My husband thinks that it was an isolated incident but I don't trust the neighbor. It could happen other times. It is illegal here as well to sell pot, but I never found myself in a similar situation so I don't know what I'm going to put myself into either way if I speak with the neighbor and if I report an anonymous complaint.
