A suspect from an attempted assault and attempted carjacking from a Vernon store thought he could hide from a police service dog.

He was wrong.

Officers were called Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to the area of Walmart to assist a loss prevention officer with a suspect who was fleeing the area.

“The suspect had reportedly attempted to assault the loss prevention officer with a weapon,” said Vernon RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk, who identified the weapon as a needle.

“He then attempted a robbery of a vehicle, a carjacking, from two people from Vernon who were in their car.”

That attempt was unsuccessful, and a police service dog team was called to the scene.

The dog was put onto the track of where the suspect was last seen and, within minutes of starting a search, the suspect was found in some bushes. The dog made contact with the suspect’s leg.

“The dog handler asked the suspect why he didn’t give himself up when he heard the dog coming,” said Molendyk. “His reply was ‘I didn’t think the dog would find me.’”

Items stolen from Walmart, about $1,000 worth of merchandise, were recovered.

The suspect, 28, of no fixed address was taken into custody.