In the UK, pets are being poisoned in record numbers due to exposure to recreational drugs like cannabis, cocaine, and nicotine. The Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) reported 633 calls involving drug-poisoned animals last year, marking a 42% increase from the previous year. Dr. Nicola Robinson, head of VPIS service, noted that dogs are more likely to ingest these substances than cats, often by consuming vomit or feces of drug users or discarded products. Labrador retrievers and beagles are particularly at risk due to their food-motivated behavior.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A record number of pets are ingesting recreational drugs and requiring veterinary care in the UK, figures shared with the Guardian reveal.
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figures → ingest → Guardian
Last year, the UK’s only emergency poison centre for animals received its highest ever number of calls involving animals poisoned by cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms and nicotine, and it is on course to do so again this year.
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it → receive → course
The centre runs two emergency phone lines, the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) for vets and the Animal PoisonLine (APL) for owners.
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centre → run → owners
Pet owners are reporting that dogs in particular have poisoned themselves by finding and eating the vomit or faeces of a drug user, or abandoned food laced with drugs.
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dogs → report → drugs
Others have been poisoned after swallowing discarded nicotine gum, vaping fluid or other recreational drug products.
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Others → poison → gum
Dr Nicola Robinson, the VPIS head of service, said: “It’s quite remarkable what dogs decide to eat.
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dogs → say → what
Cats think before they eat, so there are far fewer cases of cats [being poisoned] than dogs.”
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they → think → dogs
This exceeded a 26% increase in total calls to the VPIS and APL over the same period.
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This → exceed → period
“We’re very busy at the moment, so I expect we’ll have a record year again this year,” Robinson said.
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Robinson → ’re → year
On average, the poison centre receives a call a day about an animal that has ingested recreational drugs, and it is dealing with 87% more cases than it did in 2021.
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it → receive → 2021
The greatest numbers of calls concern nicotine products and cannabis.
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numbers → concern → products
Robinson said cannabis was a growing problem.
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cannabis → say → ?
“It’s amazing how many pets get it in a public place – in an alleyway, a public park or even in quite rural places like the woods.
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pets → ’ → woods
The dog insurer Waggel has seen a rise in the number of cannabis claims owners have made over the past five years.
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owners → see → years
“Highly food-motivated breeds like labradors, golden retrievers and beagles are most at risk,” said Aimee Warner, a Waggel vet.
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Warner → motivate → risk
Pamela Wesson, 72, no longer lets her dog Lola off the lead in Mill Road cemetery in central Cambridge, a Victorian burial ground that is now a wildlife haven.
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that → let → Cambridge
Lola, a jack russell crossed with a pug, used to run into bushes and come out licking her lips having eaten something she shouldn’t have.
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she → cross → something
“I’d have a little yucky laugh with the other dog owners nearby: ‘Oh no, there she goes again,’” said Wesson.
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Wesson → have → owners
“I certainly wouldn’t say that any more with a light heart.”
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I → say → heart
On Christmas Eve 2023, Lola darted into some bushes and emerged “looking guilty”, said Wesson.
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Wesson → dart → bushes
“Very soon after that, at home, her legs started sliding out from under her and then she collapsed.
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she → start → her
I thought she was going to die.”
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she → think → ?
She rushed Lola to the emergency vet, who diagnosed toxin ingestion.
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who → rush → ingestion
Police have seized class A and B drugs during patrols of the cemetery, and Wesson suspects Lola – who made a full recovery after an expensive overnight stay – was poisoned by eating residues of drugs in human waste.
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who → seize → waste
“The cemetery is a beautiful place to walk – it’s soul-enhancing, if you ignore the drawbacks,” Wesson said.
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Wesson → walk → drawbacks
“But it’s incredibly dangerous, what some of these people do.
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some → ’ → people
If Lola had died I would have been heartbroken.”
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I → die → ?
Robinson recommends that any animal poisoned by a recreational drug is immediately taken to see a vet.
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animal → recommend → vet
“I would not recommend owners waste time calling us on the Animal PoisonLine.
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owners → recommend → PoisonLine
Go to the vets and let the vet ring and get treatment advice if they need it,” Robinson said.
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Robinson → go → it
Poisoned on Ben Nevis
Christina Bluhme and her son Magnus were nearly at the top of Ben Nevis when they noticed their six-year-old labrador, Tokyo, was behaving oddly.
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labrador → poison → Nevis
“She started losing her weight bearance on her hind legs – her legs kind of went [from] under her,” she says.
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she → start → her
“She was swaying, zoning in and out.”
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She → sway → ?
They decided to turn back, fearing the normally agile dog had suffered a stroke while climbing Britain’s tallest peak.
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dog → decide → peak
But Tokyo refused to move.
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Tokyo → refuse → ?
“She just lay down and was completely lifeless.”
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She → lie → ?
Bluhme, a 50-year-old dog trainer from Surrey, tried to carry the 24kg dog down the mountain but was unable to get very far.
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Bluhme → try → mountain
In desperation, she called the emergency services and discovered a team from Lochaber mountain rescue were already descending the 1,345-metre (4,413ft) summit after rescuing a hiker.
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team → call → hiker
Alerted to the dog’s plight, they rushed Tokyo down the mountain on a stretcher.
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they → alert → stretcher
A senior emergency vet who was waiting in a nearby clinic saw that the dog was exhibiting signs of having digested a neurotoxin and a call to the VPIS confirmed this.
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call → wait → this
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
