SAN DIEGO — Kelly Wiehe, like many dog owners, "loves her dog to pieces."
She takes her dog, Lili, a 4-year-old Weimaraner to Ocean Beach's Dog Beach every day while spending six weeks out of the year in San Diego.
Last Friday on their morning visit, Lili quickly swallowed something while running around the beach. Wiehe assumed it was leftovers from people eating on the beach.
However, roughly an hour later Lili's behavior changed.
"She was avoiding me and avoiding being touched and her pupils were dilating and she wouldn't go outside. She wouldn't eat. She wasn't interested in drinking any water," said Wiehe.
Wiehe rushed her dog to the emergency room where she was eventually told Lili had tested positive for methamphetamine, marijuana, and Ritalin in her system.
"I didn't know if I should laugh, or cry, or pass out because... I was expecting maybe she'd eaten something spoiled or just, I don't know. I really was not expecting something to this level," said Wiehe.
She says Lili spent more than a day in the emergency vet and remained on treatment for several days following.
According to Wiehe, a vet told her there have been similar cases of dogs ingesting drugs at Ocean Beach and other dog beaches throughout the city.
ABC 10News reached out to the clinic where Lili was treated, but the clinic was unable to provide an exact number of patients with a similar experience at the time.
"Protecting them in an environment that you think they should be safe, it's complicated," said Wiehe.
Wiehe says she informed the city's parks and recreation department about what happened but has not filed a police report.
