Puppies sickened after eating meth, marijuana found in San Francisco's Pacific Heights
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Several puppies in San Francisco are recovering from emergency vet care after the dogs ingested marijuana and meth they apparently picked up near a park in the Pacific Heights and Cow Hollow neighborhoods
One week ago Oliver the Maltipoo was romping with his owner on a grassy knoll in popular Lafayette Park. She noticed he ate something before she could intervene. Hours later he landed in emergency vet care.
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"When I got the call three hours later that they found amphetamines and methadone (methamphetamines), I went 'oh my god is he going to die?' It was really scary. He made it through though. He did," said Owner Camille Perez.
"The possibility of such heavy-duty drugs never entered my mind," added Perez.
Doug Mandell, another dog owner said, "It is really eye-opening for owners."
He suspects a marijuana edible sickened his dog in Lafayette Park.
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"I do know that someone I'm not familiar with gave her a treat. This was noon. By 3 or 4, she was completely almost catatonic," said Mandell.
The dog, Georgia, was put on an IV and later released.
San Francisco Animal Care and Control said that most of the time dogs ingest human feces with drug residue and then get sick.
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Dog owner Marcy Cortes says she's seen homeless sleeping in the park so she doesn't let her nephew play in the grass and keeps her dog away from it.
Another dog, Max, a Miniature Pinscher puppy, was also hospitalized after consuming meth outside the Cow Hollow library nearby. His owners say he's still weak and contracted aspiration pneumonia from the intubation.
The San Francisco SPCA says half the cases they see of dogs eating marijuana or methamphetamines involves "unknown exposures," meaning the pet ingests it out on the street or in a park.
