A DOG owner is warning West Cliff residents to keep a close eye on their pets after her dog nearly died from eating cannabis while out on a walk.

The 68-year-old woman, who wished to remain anonymous, noticed her Labradoodle becoming ill after taking her to Admiral’s Walk on Sunday (Apr 12).

She said: “We usually let her off the lead and on this occasion she disappeared into the bushes. My dog is a bit of a scavenger and people leave all sorts of rubbish there.

“At around 8pm that evening the doorbell rang and as I got up to go to the door, I noticed her bed was wet. It was very unlike her to wet herself,” she continued.

“As we stood talking in the kitchen, she urinated again. It was totally uncontrolled; she didn’t know she was doing it. At first I thought it must be her becoming incontinent as she’s seven years old now.

“Two hours later, as I got up to give her a bedtime snack, she could hardly walk when she followed me into the kitchen, and she was staggering about and falling over.

“She was panting and her pupils were dilated. She was literally stoned.”

The dog was then taken to an emergency vet in Poole, who confirmed the symptoms were the result of ingesting cannabis.

“At that point I knew it had to be something she’d eaten on the walk, as it was nothing she’d eaten at home,” the woman added.

The dog had to remain overnight in the hospital in case she fell into a coma or had a seizure. She was put on an intravenous drip and fed liquid doses of charcoal to help her recover.

“She’s fine now but it was a very scary 24 hours. By the next day her pupils were back to normal and her breathing was much better.”

Chris Colledge, chairman of the West Cliff Green Residents’ Association, said: “We’ve had problems with this area over the last few weeks which need to be nipped in the bud.

“There’s quite a bit of overgrowth at the rear end of Admiral’s Walk and people have been drinking and sleeping behind the bushes and leaving a lot of litter behind.

“I’ve asked the council to please keep the bushes cut back, which to a certain extent they have.

“The area needs to be looked after more, otherwise incidents like this will continue to happen,” he added.