A homeless man and his dog were almost compacted in the back of a garbage truck in Penticton on Wednesday.
RCMP Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth said the man and his dog were sleeping in a cardboard recycling dumpster when a garbage truck picked it up and emptied it into the compactor.
Police said the operator began to compact the load when the man banged on the interior of the truck which alerted the driver.
Wrigglesworth said the man had fallen approximately 15 feet into the empty truck and was extricated by the fire department. He was then attended to by paramedics who determined that although very frightened by the experience, he was not seriously injured. Wrigglesworth said the dog was also uninjured.
The man informed police that this was not the first time this had happened to him and agreed to find a safer place to sleep in the future.