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These sorts of reports are what veterinarians like Dr. Alastair Cribb term “anecdotal evidence.”

Cribb is the founding dean of the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine and remains a professor there. He says anecdotal reports tend to obscure the fact that very little is actually known about the effects of cannabidiol in dogs and cats.

“The short answer is that there is no testing overseen by an authorizing body,” he says. “There is in-house testing by the companies making these products, but nobody is checking up on that.”

Cribb strikes a further note of caution by citing a U.S. Food and Drug Administration survey, which reported many cannabidiol products were “found to not contain the levels of cannabidiol they claimed to contain.”

In Canada, veterinarians are not allowed to prescribe medical marijuana or dispense cannabidiol products. In the absence of Health Canada approvals, companies are not allowed to make health claims for their cannabidiol products.

Despite these obstacles, interest in cannabidiol products for pets is growing. Greco, who has worked at PAWSitively Natural for three years, says demand has spiked recently. “Sales really picked up in the course of this year,” she says, adding that because Google and Facebook don’t allow ads that use the words “cannabis” or “marijuana,” interest is spreading just by word of mouth.

That means customers come in looking for the PETtanicals oils (a 30-ml bottle is $49.99), but that some are a little fuzzy on the exact nature of the products. “Some people, especially the older generation, need a bit of education,” Greco says. She is quick to assure customers that the oil contains no THC and won’t produce a high in animals. Instead, it is recommended it as a treatment for anxiety, seizures and pain associated with arthritis.