Warning for pet owners after dog ingests PCP in West Vancouver
Posted March 29, 2018 5:48 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WEST VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Police in West Vancouver are out with a warning after a dog got sick while walking in a forested area near Keith and Willow Creek Roads last Sunday.
Constable Jeff Palmer with West Vancouver Police says the dog collapsed suddenly and had to be taken in for emergency care.
“Fortunately, the dog responded to treatment, is recovering at home and is expected to fully recover,” he tells NEWS 1130. “But the owner was then informed that blood testing had found the drug Phencyclidine or PCP within the dog’s blood sample.”
At this point police don’t know where, how, or when the dog came into contact with the hallucinogenic street drug.
“It’s of concern to us, certainly,” he says. “PCP is really a comparatively rare substance for causing any police response in West Vancouver. Having said that, there’s really much more that we don’t know than we do. It could be anything from someone using and inadvertently spilling or dropping some small quantity in one of the areas where this dog had been walked through. We don’t have any certain basis on which to say that it was placed intentionally.”
According to police, investigators have checked the area but have not been able to find any traces of the drug.
PCP was originally created as a veterinary anesthetic, and can be found in powder or liquid forms. Palmer says there’s no indication this incident is linked to any other investigation, but that is not being ruled out.
Investigators are urging people to be careful when walking around in public areas, especially if they have a pet or small child. If you see or hear of any suspicious circumstances, you’re asked to call the West Vancouver Police Department at 604.925.7300.
