CBD to the Rescue: A Pet Story

Approximately, 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Unfortunately, only about half of these animals find homes and the others often stay in shelters or they are euthanized.  Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized.

Often, pets enter shelters when their owners cannot responsibly take care of them or they are strays.  According to the Human Society, pets can even lose homes due to breed prejudices and lack of accessibility to care if they are injured.   

As one can imagine, like any foster care system, even pets can come out with very traumatic experiences.  New owners who seek to adopt shelter animals have most likely done their research and know what extra steps of care they would have to take to give their new rescue pets a nurturing home.  That is just what it takes to save a pet.

Anxiety is common in shelter animals; and there are so many remedies to treat these pets from Amitriptyline, Busprione, Clomipramine, Dexmedetomidine, Diazepam, Fluoxetine, Lorazepam, and other prescription drugs that have alarming side-effects.  However, in these changing times and with the legalization of CBD – pet owners have utilized this more alternative way of treating their anxious pets.

The CBD space has grown exponentially over the last couple of years.  The hemp-CBD market alone could hit $22 billion by 2022. A rise of companies producing and selling CBD have increased with new and current state legalizations for production. Those that sell the best in that market have to offer the best type of CBD oils – especially those that are natural, organic and best of all, contain no GMOs. King Kanine, a company that specializes in offering natural CBD oils for ingestion for dogs, offers CBD based topical solutions for dry, aching paws as well as dermal inflammation.

Often, care for older dogs can be hard, and they are last on the adoption list – especially if they already have aging and aching bones, unfortunately.  A recent 2018 pharmacokinetic and clinical study done by the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University has determined that “2 mg/kg of CBD twice daily can help increase comfort and activity in dogs with OA (osteoarthritis).” The study states further that “baseline scores showed a significant decrease in pain and increase in activity (p < 0.01) at week 2 and 4 during CBD treatment.”  A product like CBD could continue to calm down older dogs.

King Kanine recently received nationally renowned attention on winning the 2018 Gold Paw Award from the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals. Due to the company’s love and passion for the adoration of pets, the founders have dedicated their time and resources for not only innovative products for dogs but for also pioneering concepts to fundraise for shelters.

The company throughout its lifespan has consistently given tens of thousands of dollars to charities that focus on pet rescue and pet rehabilitation. Further charitable contributions have also been in the form of kind donations and volunteer hours, as well as working with other charities to drive fundraising for certain key projects. These projects have included working with Marley’s Mutts, Gentle Giants Great Dane Rescue, New York Bully Crew, Freckles and Tomcat, and many more.  

The company further plans to ramp up its charitable giving efforts with the opening of their non-profit, “Dogs Rock and Roll” aimed at getting dogs rolling again with wheelchairs.  Although there may be a stigma about CBD and cannabis products, there’s alarming research in noting how well it works. The landscape might make it not accessible for shelters to take CBD donations now, but they sure appreciate the donations that King Kanine has given them in grants and volunteer hours.