Zen the border collie has narrowly escaped death after eating a party drug, dropped on the ground, at a popular Broome pub.
His owners, Patrycja and Ben Hannagan, said they had been at the dog-friendly venue for two hours when their dog started vomiting, wobbling, and appearing to choke.
"Then he started acting as if he was about to collapse, like his back legs gave up," Ms Hannagan said.
"And he was doing something weird with his mouth — constantly licking his face and almost coughing."
Fearing a snake bite, the couple got Zen to a nearby veterinarian who quickly confirmed that while there was no venom in his system, his heart rate and temperature had increased to alarming levels.
Ms Hannagan said she asked the vet if Zen would survive.
"She was very hesitant to give an answer," Ms Hannagan said.
"And then she said 'I don't know but I'll do my best'.
The couple left Brisbane four months ago in a converted bus on a journey around Australia.
Ms Hannagan, a professional artist, said her goal was to paint 100 murals on the road trip for the mental health charity Black Dog Institute.
The trip had gone smoothly until the two-and-a-half-year-old collie's health scare.
"We're crying because we travel with him and we're extra careful, and do everything right," Ms Hannagan said.
"You just feel like you failed.
"It was a bit of a heartbreaking moment."
Ms Hannagan said it took another hour for further toxicology results to come back which showed methamphetamines in Zen's system.
"[The vet] believes he found some methamphetamines on the floor," she said.
"And dogs can sniff this stuff out because it smells different."
Ms Hannagan said that despite Zen being sedated he was howling and highly agitated and took two days to recover in the clinic.
"If it was a bigger dose he would have died because his heart would not handle it," she said.
She said Zen didn't pass urine at the time so the vet couldn't narrow down the type of "party drug" he'd consumed.
But the couple were told it had happened before.
"The vet said that it actually happens in Broome five to six times a year on average; that dogs will find some party drugs, mostly on the beach after people party there and lose them in the sand," she said.
"Then in the morning people go with their dogs for a walk and the dog finds the drugs."
The bill for Zen's care — sighted by the ABC — was $1200.
Ms Hannagan said Zen had made a full recovery but the unusual incident had made her more alert to potential risks.
"We had already taught him 'drop it' or 'leave it' … but it's another worry now and it's definitely made us more conscious of the risks that are out there."
