Dog Mauled Owner After Being Fed THC Gummy

OCTOBER 24--After feeding a THC-laced gummy to her pet Rottweiler, a Michigan woman was attacked by the dog during an hour-long ordeal that left the victim grievously injured and her home drenched in blood, according to an incident report that reads like a horror film treatment.

The attack earlier this month inside a Gaylord residence prompted local animal control officials to warn that THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, is considered toxic to dogs and can cause aggression.

Recounting the October 5 incident, the victim told officials that she gave the animal a gummy that morning and the dog subsequently “came into the bathroom while she was on the toilet and ripped her off the seat.”

The woman said she fought the Rottweiler for an hour before being able to lock herself in the bedroom “and leave the dog running the house.” The two-year-old male, named Blau, weighed 82 pounds and was “lunging and growling and trying to bite,” according to notes from a March 2023 visit to the vet.

Responding to a “dog attack” call, animal control workers found the Rottweiler standing by a picture window in the woman's home. Upon entering the residence, the dog--which was “subdued” and not barking or growling--was caged by officers using a “catchpole.”

The dog is seen above in an Otsego County Animal Control & Shelter photo. The organization provided the incident report in response to a TSG Freedom of Information request.

There was “a lot of blood on the living room carpet” and an adjacent hallway had “an immense amount of blood on the floor and walls,” an officer noted. The victim was “laying face up on the bed covered in blood” and unable to stand. An “extreme amount” of blood was “on the bed as well as the walls and floors.”

The woman was airlifted to a medical center 60 miles away, where she underwent emergency surgery, was intubated, and placed in the intensive care unit. A relative said that the woman “almost lost her right arm,” adding that “there is not much left of the area between her shoulder and her elbow.”

After a week in the hospital, the woman was released and began recuperating at her father’s home.

The man told animal control officers that his daughter was “going through a bad divorce” and “the dog was very stressed.” The man added that he was the one who “bought the dog some ‘gummies,’” apparently believing they would mellow out the canine.

The “cannabis-infused” pomegranate gummies were recovered by investigators, who attached the evidence photo at left to the incident report.

The victim’s relatives sought an extreme solution to the problem with Blau (German for “blue”). The woman’s brother-in-law “wanted to come get the dog and kill it,” the report states. Her estranged husband initially asked to “rescue” and rehabilitate Blau, but eventually asked if “he could take the dog...and shoot it.”

Ten days ago, the woman signed a form authorizing the euthanization of the Rottweiler. On October 16, the woman and her parents visited the county shelter to see Blau “and say goodbye.” The following day the animal “was taken to the vet and humanely euthanized.” (3 pages)