A sweet dog named Nova was poisoned with cocaine while on a walk near a homeless encampment.
Pet Owner’s Worst Nightmare
A dog owner is a little extra grateful today after dealing with his dog ingesting the dangerous street drug. The dog’s owner Andrew Epstein tells ABC 7 news that during the walk Nova must have ingested something because she immediately had a reaction and ended up spending the night in an animal hospital.
A toxicology report revealed that Nova had ingested THC and cocaine. “She was out of it,” recalls her owner. “Her eyes were dark, she wasn’t moving around and she just wasn’t who she was,” he continued.
“The doctor said, ‘Yes, there’s THC in her blood,’ and we were stunned. I mean, just absolutely speechless and just absolutely shocked.”
This camp is located near North Park under the 101 Freeway. Epstein noted to cameras that over the years he has been walking his dog down to this park, he has noticed the homeless camp getting bigger and bigger.
“They’ve cleaned up this area maybe two times, maybe three times. Within 24 hours, it’s back and bigger.”
Homeless Camp Located Near A School
The camp isn’t only harmful to animals, Epstein points out that the park also has a playground that parents actually take their kids to. AND there is a school nearby. ABC News asked parents who were in the park with their kids their thoughts.
Obviously, they aren’t happy. “It’s horrible. You think you’re coming to a park, bringing your family, going back to nature, and having a wonderful time and instead, you find that you’re putting them at risk,” said one parent to the news organization.
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The office of Los Angeles Councilman Paul Krekorian spoke with ABC News soon after the incident made headlines. “We have cleared this location repeatedly, but people keep trying to camp at this underpass. At present, LAPD’s North Hollywood Division is understaffed and daily enforcement is not possible. The site is scheduled for Care+ cleanup this Friday.”
Meanwhile, Epstein is warning both dog owners and parents to be cautious in the area and especially make sure that their pets aren’t snacking on random things at the park because they can end up with a vet bill and a lot of worries as he did.
Another Dog Went Blind
Last year a similar story hit the news regarding a dog cutely named Chance The Rapper who went blind after swallowing something found during his playtime in a Santa Monica park. “Out of nowhere he just stopped. I looked down and he collapsed,” the dog’s owner Lori Burns told ABC News.
“All four legs were completely out. He was panting extremely heavily. He was looking up into the sky,” she recalls. An emergency vet later told her that Chance had ingested oxycodone. “He said it’s really serious, and I said to the point, ‘Is he going to live?’ and he said ‘I don’t know.’ And, that’s when I lost it.”
Thankfully, he is alive, but the dog is now permanently blind and Burns spent $4,000 saving her dog’s life.
