When Kyle's dog lost consciousness, he thought he was at death's door - but the truth was far more disturbing

Kyle Ryan has seen some disturbing behaviour at his beloved local park, and usually those things occur without any impact to the Newcastle local and his two dogs.

But Monday's visit to Braye Park in Waratah West proved to be one he'll never forget after his cream-coloured golden retriever, Arnold Palmer, became dangerously ill.

So sick, in fact, Ryan thought the five-year-old pooch, who is named after the legendary golfer, might have suffered a tick bite.

Instead, the cause of Arnold's symptoms is far more disturbing.

The trio had come home from another fun afternoon playing in the park and the dogs were left in the backyard to hang out and enjoy the sun. Ryan, meanwhile, attended to dad duties and some work meetings inside the house.

When he went out to feed them later that night, he realised something was seriously wrong with Arnold.

"Arnold was just lying down in the rain, which is a bit weird for him and so I went down and checked him out and he was almost, like, a bit absent. I went down, and got near him and he got a bit jolted when I came into view and so I was talking to him to see if he'd respond. He wasn't moving, very lethargic," Ryan tells nine.com.au.

"I started making his food in front of him and he just wasn't interested in it, which is really strange behavior for a goldie, especially Arnold, and so I tried to rouse him up and get him to stand up a bit, and he got up and he was really wobbly on his feet and I knew something was up."

READ MORE: Seven spring plants vets warn could harm your pets

READ MORE: Dog trainer's trick to stop your dog pulling on the lead

READ MORE: Painful condition dogs face that's not always from old age

As an experienced, longtime dog owner, Ryan knew all the checks to do when a dog is showing signs of distress.

He searched for a tick, checked to see if Arnold's gums were pale, felt his belly for any blockages and looked at his eyes.

There was no tick or anything pointing to the common reasons for dogs becoming suddenly unwell.

Then Arnold started falling in and out of consciousness, worrying Ryan that his beloved pooch was about to face his toughest challenge yet.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, he's gone, this is bad news', obviously [something was up with] his brain. So my wife and I were going, 'No, Arnold's gone'," the father-of-two recalls.

"He's only young and he's had about four or five surgeries. Previously, he got attacked really bad when he was about 14 weeks old, and he got fully ripped open and broken legs ... it's been a really long road with Arnold and he's a fantastic dog now, so it was quite an emotional time."

Ryan rushed Arnold to the vet, carried him inside and put him on the surgery table, where his pulse and blood pressure were checked and found to be normal. Despite that, the dog was shaking.

Arnold stayed with doctors while his owner headed to the waiting room to sign forms, when all of a sudden the dog came walking out like nothing had happened.

"I had to do a double take and the vet came out with a bit of a wry smile on his face. [Arnold was] saying 'hi' to everybody and walking around and then he came over to me and sat down," he said.

Seconds later, Arnold zoned out again, his paws sliding on the floor and the vet told Ryan they believed his dog had ingested some sort of drug.

"He said, 'Oh well, we haven't got the result back yet, but maybe he's high," Ryan remembers.

"Then everyone in the waiting room was laughing. Despite their own pets being in a bad way, everyone was pretty relieved this dog that just got carried in 10 minutes earlier on death's door has now come out.

Arnold took the same urine drug test that is done on humans, which came back positive for tetrahydrocannabinol, a cannabinoid found in cannabis.

"Good news was that he was negative for meth and opiates as well, so he hasn't fully gone off the rails yet," Ryan jokes.

After that it didn't take long for Arnold to get better. Ryan was given charcoal to add to the dog's food to help minimise the toxins and when they got home Arnold sat down in a pile of blankets and slept it off.

"It was just that shock of thinking he's gone and he was paralysed and he was obviously very, very high because he was so out of it... a great relief that you know my dog's not dead."

While vets do see dogs affected by cannabis from time to time, Ryan is only aware of one other dog that has consumed it during a visit to the same park.

Still it's concerning that curious dogs who love to run deep into bushes and sniff and nibble anything that piques their interest can accidentally consume drugs.

There are lots of calls and petitions from the community to clean up the park, which also has children's play equipment.

The City of Newcastle Council tells nine.com.au that it knows about the concerns about Braye Park.

"City of Newcastle is aware of a complex range of issues within Braye Park and continues to investigate both interim and longer-term solutions for the site within its authority," a City of Newcastle spokesperson says.

"The safety of the community is paramount and we encourage the community to contact the NSW Police with complaints relating to anti-social behaviour or illegal activities within Braye Park."

Ryan has since returned to Braye Park with Arnold and his other dog Birdie, a name also inspired by golf.

"It's a real shame that this is happening – it is a beautiful park," Ryan says.

Arnold is now back to his usual goofy self and showing no effects from his misadventure.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.