Tokyo began swaying and drifting in and out near the summit of Ben Nevis before lying down and appearing lifeless. Mountain rescue volunteers placed the 6-year-old Labrador on a stretcher and carried her off Britain’s tallest mountain, an emergency later traced to cannabis ingestion.
Tokyo had been hiking with her owner, Christina Bluhme, and Bluhme’s son, Magnus, when her condition deteriorated. She was swaying, zoning in and out. She just lay down and was completely lifeless,Bluhme said.
Members of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team encountered the group while descending after helping another hiker. The volunteers carried the approximately 24-kilogram, or 53-pound, dog down the mountain, which rises 1,345 meters, or 4,413 feet.
A veterinarian in Fort William, Scotland, consulted the Veterinary Poisons Information Service and confirmed that Tokyo had ingested cannabis. She received activated charcoal, remained overnight and made a full recovery after care costing £1,121, or about $1,500. A separate account of Tokyo’s mountain rescue also documented her collapse, stretcher evacuation and recovery.
Poison service records a sharp increase in calls
Tokyo’s case comes as the U.K.’s only emergency poison center for animals reports a substantial increase in incidents involving recreational drugs and nicotine. The Veterinary Poisons Information Service logged 633 calls about those exposures in 2025, a 42% increase from 445 in 2024.
The 2025 total was also 87% higher than the number handled in 2021. Cannabis and nicotine products accounted for most reported exposures, while cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms were also involved.
The circumstances were not limited to homes. Dogs reportedly encountered substances in parks, alleyways, cemeteries and mountain areas. Specific hazards included food containing drugs, discarded nicotine gum, vape liquid and human waste from people who had used drugs.
Another case involved Lola, a Jack Russell terrier-pug mix owned by Pamela Wesson. Lola collapsed at home in Cambridge, England, on Christmas Eve 2023, shortly after rooting through bushes at Mill Road Cemetery, where police had seized drugs during patrols. Her diagnosis, treatment and outcome were not provided.
Nicola Robinson, head of service at VPIS, said dogs are affected more often than cats because of what dogs will eat. Aimee Warner, a veterinarian with pet insurer Waggel, identified Labradors, golden retrievers and beagles as highly food-motivated breeds that may face particular risk.
That assessment does not mean every dog from those breeds will ingest a discarded substance, nor do the call totals provide a breed-by-breed risk comparison. Tokyo’s case instead illustrates that exposure can happen in a public outdoor area where an owner may not expect to encounter drugs.
Suspected ingestion calls for prompt veterinary help
Tokyo’s swaying, altered awareness and collapse were signs of her individual emergency, not a checklist owners can use to identify a substance. Because the material and amount swallowed may be unknown, a veterinarian is needed to evaluate a dog and determine the appropriate response.
Robinson advised U.K. owners who suspect recreational-drug ingestion to take the animal directly to a veterinarian rather than delay by contacting the owner-facing poison line first. Go to the vets and let the vet ring and get treatment advice if they need it, she said. The veterinarian can contact VPIS for case-specific treatment guidance.
Guidance differs by country. In the United States, ASPCA Poison Control directs owners who believe an animal may have swallowed a potentially poisonous substance to call its 24-hour service. The American Veterinary Medical Association also emphasizes working with a veterinarian when an animal is sick, injured or experiencing an emergency.
Owners should not wait for concerning behavior to resolve before seeking professional direction when ingestion is suspected. Tokyo recovered fully, but her outcome followed a mountain evacuation, veterinary evaluation and overnight care rather than observation alone.
What would you do if your dog were in this situation? Share your thoughts in the comments.
By Sarah Mitchell — 8 years as a local-news reporter covering animal welfare, shelters, neighborhood disputes, and public-safety pet stories.
