Family’s dog tests positive for meth, molly after walk in park
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — A routine trip to a park turned into anything but routine for one Albuquerque family. Their 10-year-old dog started acting strange and later tested positive for drugs.
The family said they’ve been coming to Bullhead Park for more than a decade, but after what happened to their dog, they said they have no plans to go back.
Bob Kellogg brings his dog, Cheekah, and two other family pets to Bullhead Park at least twice a week.
“We found going to open field gave them more freedom and ability to exercise,” Kellogg said.
Last Friday, after a walk in the park he noticed something was off with the 10-year-old Pom-chi.
“Found vomit on the floor, she was moving and twitching and looking up as if she was seeing something and couldn’t stay still,” Kellogg said.
Kellogg and his wife took Cheekah to the emergency vet and did not expect what happened next.
“He came back and he said, ‘Oh my gosh, she is positive for amphetamine, methamphetamine and molly,’ and we were shocked,” Kellogg said.
Veterinary Surgeon Kendra Freeman said they see cases like this in the E.R. all the time.
“We do see a fair bit of marijuana ingestion, which is much more common than some of the methamphetamine that we do see. But we see all of it unfortunately here,” Freeman said.
“This is a risk and our drug situation is just frightening very frightening,” Kellogg said.
Kellogg said Cheekah stays pretty close during their walks and how she came into contact with drugs is still a mystery.
“Was there something on the ground that she [picked] up? Or did she walk through something that was on the ground and she got it on her paw?” Kellogg said.
Kellogg wanted to share Cheekah’s story to warn others to pay close attention to their surroundings.
“It could happen to anybody’s dog, and the concern is, of course, that it could happen to a kid if there’s stuff on the ground that a kid falls on,” Kellogg said.
Cheekah spent 48 hours in the clinic before she was cleared to return home.
WISH-TV’s sister station KRQE reached out to the city of Albuquerque, which said it has crews that check and clean parks weekly. Officials said anytime drugs are found, the city calls APD.