Celebrating World Animal Day and the Use of Cannabis For Animals

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In case you don’t know, today, October 4th, is World Animal Day where we celebrate the importance of animals in the world, raise awareness on animal welfare, and we can celebrate the love we have for our own pets. Since we are using today as an opportunity to educate others on how we can help our pets, did you know that veterinarians use cannabis products for cats and dogs? The Humane Society of the United States says that “With the loosening of cannabis laws, more pet owners and veterinarians are using products containing CBD to alleviate pain, decrease anxiety, relieve gastrointestinal issues and reduce seizures in dogs and cats.”

Most people, myself included, were completely unaware that pets such as dogs and cats can absorb cannabis. Some may be hesitant because they don’t want to get their pet “high” but that is actually not what is happening. Usually, pets taking cannabis will receive it due to other medications not helping with pain, more specifically when the pain is linked to arthritis. What is even more relevant to us in California, is that a few weeks ago, Governor Newsom signed to pass a bill, AB 384, which allows veterinarians here in California to “recommend the use of cannabis on an animal patient for potential therapeutic effect or health supplementation purposes …” One success story that The Humane Society of the United States stated in relation to pet use of cannabis was a dog named Foxie who had cancer. Her owner had an idea, due to the fact that the veterinarian prescribed pain relievers were not doing the job, to use cannabis products to help her dog relieve the pain since it helps relieve the pain in humans. Foxie’s owner stated that “During the final weeks of her life, Foxie was able to go out and play in the snow … She lit up for a while and would frolic around in the yard,” says Feldman, director of sustainer strategies at the Humane Society of the United States. “She probably got an extra month of good time with us.” Further, in a 2021 survey by the Center for Canine Behavior Studies, it was found that “51% of dog owners have used CBD product for their pet.”

All of this is good news because we know that cannabis for pets is working. Use today as a day to care and love your animals a little extra and keep in the back of your mind that cannabis is not only used to care for you but can care for your pets too.

Sources: AB 384, Grow Diaries, The Humane Society of the United States