Beloved family dog dies from 'cannabis poisoning' after walk in Scots woods
A Scots family have been left devastated after their beloved died from suspected cannabis poisoning within hours of going on a regular walk to the woods.
Cecilia Coutts, from Kincorth in Aberdeen, was at work when her husband Dave rang her in a panic asking her to come home immediatley after he'd found their eight-year-old Black Labrador collapsed in the garden.
The couple rushed Tessa to the vets after it became clear that she couldn't walk and was disorientated on the afternoon of July 16.
Cecilia, 56, said: "Davie took Tessa for a walk at the Gramps (Kincorth Hill Local Nature Reserve) around midday.
"He noticed that she was eating something at one point so he told her to drop it and she came running straight over to him.
"He checked her over and she seemed to be fine so they carried on as normal and went home.
"A few hours later he let her out into the garden and when he went to check on her she was collapsed. Tessa couldn't use her back legs and we had to carry to the car. It was awful."
A nurse had to help carry Tessa into the premises when the Coutts arrived at their local vets as she continued to deteroriate. A vet quickly assessed the beloved pet and suspected she had eaten marijuana from the symptoms she was displaying.
Tests were carried out before it was decided that Tessa would have to monitored over night at an emergency vet hospital.
"When we took her to the hospital she came walking out towards us and she was wobbly," Cecillia explained.
"It broke my heart. The hospital said they would call us in the morning but her heart rate dropped and she was put on oxygen.
"By 10pm they had phoned saying nothing had changed and then just before 12am they called again saying she was unresponsive and we should come in.
"They hoped our voices might bring her around but I just knew she was gone. To me she looked like she'd had a stroke or was in a coma. Davie couldn't take it and had to leave the room, and I asked them to put her to sleep.
"We were in shock. Her body had just shut down within a matter of hours."
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A vet assessed Tessa's cause of death was poisioning due to a toxin. However, a test confirming if it was a drug could not be carried out.
The Coutts are now warning other dog owners in the area to be vigilant as another dog was also rushed ot hospital with the same symptoms.
"Another dog owner we know came in to the vets too while we were there, she was screaming for help," Cecillia said. "Her dog had also eaten something at the same place just two hours after Tessa, it emerged.
"Our vet later confirmed that the dog had also ate cannabis at the Gramps but thankfully it pulled through and survived.
"Dogs eat anything so I can not believe someone is hiding substances like that around there. It's baffled me to be honest. It makes no sense and I'm angry.
"It might just be an animal to some but Tessa was like a child to us. The whole family is heartbroken by her passing."
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