Canine Cannabis Canine Cannabis

The booming CBD market now includes your furry friends...

Written by Hannarose McGuinness, Photographed by Kayl Wohl, Designed by Palmer Krais

By: Hannarose McGuinness

Eugene is well-known for its cannabis culture – so well-known that even the pets around town frolic in the weeds.

Gracie, the 15-year-old, one-eyed, 5-pound, Texas-native Chihuahua has used CBD for about three years now. She has lived so long that she has transcended her own name and now only goes by ‘Greg’ or ‘Stinky.’ All the while, she refuses to show any signs of aging aside from her affinity for naps and soft treats.

The only other medicine Stinky uses regularly is eye drops meant to keep her comfortable and prevent her Glaucoma from worsening. Seriously – she is an ancient dog.

In the last few years, Stinky’s health has seen some challenges. She’s always been anxious (hello, Chihuahua), but after having her right eye surgically removed in late 2019 due to a drifting lens, she needed more support in her daily life to ease achy hips, headaches from pressure in her eye and stress.

Eyes for dogs and humans have lenses behind the cornea, or outmost layer of the eye, that have the possibility to detach from the fibers holding them in place. This leads to the lens shifting freely through the eye, causing lots of pressure and discomfort. The result is an opaque, white eye and blindness.

That’s what happened to Stinky’s left eye, so we removed it to her benefit. Her twice-daily eye drops in her right eye keep the lens she still has in place, but they don’t do much else to help her feel any better.

Cue CBD.

“In the past four years, things in Eugene have changed,” Dunn said. “There are a lot more local businesses getting into it, more local people getting into it.”

With the market for pet-oriented CBD products booming alongside the cannabis industry, there is a lot of advice to sift through when considering if CBD is right for your pet. Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine says to always consult with your veterinarian before treating your pet with any medicine – CBD included. In one of Cornell’s first CBD studies, they found, “more than 80% of the dogs with osteoarthritis experienced a decrease in pain, allowing them to be more comfortable and active.”