Puppy saved with Narcan after ingesting heroin in park in Boston's South End
BOSTON - The South End is on high alert after a dog ingested opioids at the Southwest Corridor Park.
Nancy Rittenhouse walks her beagle puppy, Fynn, on the sidewalks of the South End often. This past Tuesday was no different. The 7-month-old puppy was sniffing out the streets like dogs do.
"Fynn is always trying to go after food and picking stuff up. And as I was pulling him away, I looked down and there was a ripped baggie," said Rittenhouse, who quickly realized what was inside but it was too late. Rittenhouse said Fynn ingested heroin.
"Three minutes later in the dog park, he collapsed," said Rittenhouse. She rushed her puppy to the emergency room, carrying him lifeless in her arms. Luckily, doctors were able to save his life. "They were able to administer Narcan."
The most shocking part is this is the fourth time Fynn's been exposed to drugs in Boston, according to Rittenhouse.
"I don't think we, as a community, need to accept that there's heroin on the sidewalks as our kids and our dogs are walking past," said Rittenhouse.
"We're seeing the effects of a policy that allows for drug use in the open air," said state Sen. Nick Collins (D-Boston), who's frustrated by what he said is an influx of drugs, pointing to the homeless encampment sweeps along Mass and Cass. "With the interventions the city made last week, folks who aren't moving towards housing will be finding places out in the street."
Collins is calling on the local legislature to protect community resources and guarantee an increase in police patrols in the South End.
"In the first half of the year, 1,290 patients discharged from hospitals in Boston without treatment are living in parks," said Collins.
"Its been an increasing problem, now that we've had a displacement of people from Mass and Cass. Where those drugs are hidden is where dogs are in the bushes, the mulch, the playground," said Boston-based veterinarian Sarah Gorman, who suggests owners keep dogs on leashes and have an emergency plan in place. "A puppy, they are more curious, they're exploring more things, so many of those things are inhaled."
