NOSY DOG SNIFFED OUT MIDNIGHT TOKER

Dopey or not dopey? That is the question being examined by Judge
Richard Lajoie in the trial of [name redacted].

[name redacted] is charged with one count of impaired driving in the Dunrobin
area on May 1, 2005.

After smoking "a couple of joints" of marijuana, [name redacted] allegedly
drove around the rural area west of Ottawa late at night.

He attracted the attention of police after stopping at a number of
homes to ask for help and a glass of water.

"My thoughts were that maybe there had been an accident," testified
area resident James Recoski. While [name redacted] was at the door, Recoski's
dog Guss -- a retired customs drug sniffer -- was barking furiously.

"His ([name redacted]'s) hair was wet, but it hadn't been raining that night,"
Recoski said, adding the 6-foot, 210-lb. man was swaying from side to
side, and hesitated when he spoke.

Recoski said the midnight visitor wanted to phone his brother, but the
number turned out to be long distance.

His wife yelled to shut the door and wanted him to call the police, he
said. Two to three minutes after calling 911, police arrived.

Const. Michael O'Reilly, the officer who responded to the call,
testified he suspected something was wrong with [name redacted] when he
approached the car the man was in.

"His speech was slurred and he wasn't enunciating properly," he said.
"His eyes were glazed and he had a far-away stare, looking into the
distance. He also appeared distracted and was moving his head
constantly."

After [name redacted] admitted to O'Reilly that he had smoked a "couple of
joints," O'Reilly testified, the officer decided that [name redacted] was
"wasted" and shouldn't be driving and placed him under arrest.

The trial resumes March 27.