Jen Hunt says her dog, Jagger, ate something out of a food container along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. Soon after, he was in distress.
NORTH BEND, Wash. — On Sunday, Jen Hunt took her Lab, Jagger, on a walk along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail behind Torguson Fields in North Bend.
“He's a lab. He goes on a lot of trail walks about every day,” Hunt said. “He was a little ahead of me on the leash, went into the bushes grabbing at something.”
Jagger found something he couldn't resist.
“I pulled him away. Didn't really think much of it, but noticed it was a to-go container he was eating out of. That's probably gross. He ate someone's leftover food,” Hunt said. However, by the time she got home with Jagger, she realized something was off.
“He didn't want to come out of the car which is rare. Got him on the front porch and he kind of stood there for a while and started moving his head back and forth uncontrollably. We noticed that was really weird behavior. He didn't want to get up so we figured, better take him to the vet,” she said.
Because this happened on Sunday, they had to find a veterinary clinic open. After finding an emergency vet clinic, they brought Jagger in. Staff at the clinic immediately noted Jagger's abnormal behavior and told Hunt and her husband, that it looked like their dog could have ingested drugs.
“It kind of blew our minds when we heard that,” Hunt said. “They ran some tests. The tests came back positive for methamphetamine. I think it took a while for us to process what that actually meant. When we were at the hospital, they told us they just heard of the same situation that had happened in Green Lake. They thought the dog ate goose poop. It happened to be human feces and also got methamphetamine through human feces as well. It made us feel a little better we weren't alone, but definitely shocking it's here and in Green Lake also.”
Hunt also says her veterinarian recently attended a conference where this topic was discussed.
“Our vet did tell us they learned recently from a conference that the number one way dogs are getting these meth instances is they're finding human feces that have it in them,” Hunt said.
A Google Search will highlight stories sharing similar situations. The consensus from most veterinarians is that it is possible, but it's rare. Still, dogs exhibiting unusual symptoms after eating something while out in public is reason enough to raise awareness.
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Kelly Burke, DVM works at Elliott Bay Animal Hospital. While she did not treat Jagger, she says she's seen other animals come in after ingesting drugs, mostly marijuana.
“Be careful with anything that your dog can eat, anything that looks suspicious on the ground that they could pick up,” Dr. Burke said.
If you find yourself in a situation similar to what happened to Hunt, Dr. Burke says it's best you tell your vet everything.
“We want to know because we want to help the pet. It's not anything like we're going to try to get you in trouble if they have gotten into an illegal substance,” she said.
Jagger is slowly getting back to normal. Hunt is sharing what happened, hoping to prevent another family from experiencing this.
“People have been really appreciative to have that awareness and maybe, think twice about where they're taking their dogs. Be extra cautious and mindful when walking,” Hunt said.
