Just in time for Utah’s “21 Days of Perilous Patriotism” — that window between Independence and Pioneer days when proud Americans annoy the rest of us with their late-night fireworks displays — a Park City company is offering help for anxious pets.
Some call it “canine cannabis,” others “pot for pets” or even “doggie doobies.”
But technically, this stuff doesn’t make your pooch a pothead.
For about two years now, the Park City-based Healthy Hemp Pet Company has been selling pet health products made with natural hemp oil. Hemp is the low-THC version of marijuana — THC being the substance in weed most known for its psychoactive properties.
Products made from hemp, featuring less than 0.3 percent THC, are perfectly legal — which is why Healthy Hemp Pet Company can sell a treat laced with natural cannabinoids and not be considered your dog’s dealer or puppy’s pusher.
The company was started by a man named Dave Merrell. One of Merrell’s two pet Airedale Terriers, Mya, started having issues with her joints and hips at a fairly young age, so he put her on medicines. But eventually, Merrell wanted a more natural solution — which led him to hemp.
In addition to addressing joint function, flexibility and mobility, hemp can also help dogs with anxiety problems, according to Polly Patterson, a partner at Healthy Hemp Pet Company.
HHPC recently ran an advertisement in City Weekly showing a dog in a Revolutionary War soldier’s uniform, accompanied by the slogan “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Hempiness.”
The ad goes on to state: “More pets are lost on the 4th of July than any other day of the year. This year, soothe your pet’s firework anxiety with CannaNatural. CannaNatural contains PCR-rich hemp oil to help control situational anxiety.”
Situational anxiety? We could have used a little of this CannaNatural stuff back when Cocoa, our chocolate lab/German shorthaired pointer mix, was still with us. Our veterinarian had told us once that she was the most timid dog he’d ever encountered. She was especially afraid of fireworks.
Indeed, many times during July, whenever someone would shoot off a late-night bottle rocket, my wife and I would wake and for a moment if felt like we were in one of those seedy motels with the Magic Fingers vibrating beds. Invariably, we’d find Cocoa wedged under the box springs, shaking uncontrollably.
Patterson says she first became acquainted with cannabidiol, or CBD, after being diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2015.
“I was laid off of my job on a Monday, and discovered I had cancer on Wednesday,” she said. “I started using CBD on my own journey to deal with anxiety, and it was pretty amazing.”
Patterson says they’re not exactly sure how cannabinoids work on animals because — ironically — while there have been plenty of clinical trials on humans, none have involved animals.
“We think what science is telling us is that cannibinoids activate your nervous system and brain, and seem to help your body heal itself,” Patterson said. “It seems to calm a pet’s nervous system.”
Although CannaNatural isn’t marijuana, Healthy Hemp Pet Company takes a playful attitude toward that misconception. They even originally called the product CannaBiscuit (Get it? “Cannabis-cuit”?) before discovering they couldn’t legally refer to it as a dog biscuit and changed the name to CannaNatural.
“It’s just a fun way of getting the word out there,” Patterson said of the Mary-Jane-for-mutts comparisons.
That strategy seems to be working. Patterson says sales of their hemp products for pets have “exploded.” Every month they’ve seen an increase in sales.
“We sold as much in this first quarter as we did all last year,” Patterson said.
During July, the company is selling trial samples of CannaNatural; more information can be found at healthyhemppet.com.
“If I can give my pet something natural that helps them, or at the least does no harm, why wouldn’t I try it?” Patterson asked.
She insists there’s not much danger of an overdose, either. Even when small dogs have gotten hold of an entire package of the CannaBiscuits, they usually just end up sleeping it off.
While the product reduces anxiety in pets, it’s not nearly like what a human would get from a marijuana high — not, Patterson is quick to point out, that she’d know from personal experience.
“It’s not like your dog is stumbling around or gets the munchies,” Patterson said.
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