GUARD DOG SUFFERS NEEDLE STICK

Owner Suspects The Animal May Have Rolled On Syringe

A dog that patrols a south-end Nanaimo business lot may have come in
contact with a dirty drug needle on Wednesday.

Willy, one of two Rottweiler-mix pooches kept on duty to deter
would-be vandals from the Concrete Jungle store at the corner of
Nicol and Milton Streets, was reportedly found with a syringe stuck
in his fur around 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

Police say the area is notorious for its drug activity and an
adjacent alleyway a popular hangout for addicts.

At one time, store employee Lenn Grosseth said dozens of drug
addicts would congregate near the store.

Grosseth went to the store on Wednesday night to check the dogs
after owner Dave Burrows was called about the incident by citizen patrollers.

Block Watch co-creator Doug Hiltz said he heard the dog barking on
his regular foot patrols and upon closer inspection saw the needle in his fur.

Willy was his usual self on Thursday.

Burrows joked that he doubted drug addicts would share their drugs
with his dogs -- they have fed them hamburgers -- and wonders if
Willy may have rolled onto a needle by mistake.

The property is fenced.

The Concrete Jungle moved to its south-end location in August after
nearly a decade of business, most recently along Bowen Road.

Burrows recognizes the area has its problems -- the fence will be
faced with sheet metal -- but loves the waterfront.

"When business is scared away this area is going to degrade," said Burrows.

Police have cracked down on drug activity in the area.

Several street-level drug dealers were rounded up when Nanaimo RCMP
swept through the south-end last month.

The sting was aimed at drug dealing that had grown in the area of
Nicol, Milton and Haliburton streets.