PENSACOLA, Florida - “Bang” - The sound of a rifle shot rings in the air. Your training kicks in; you quickly take cover and frantically assess yourself for any possible wounds despite the sudden rush of adrenaline. The next sound you hear is the grimace of pain, but it is not from yourself. It is your partner, your "battle buddy". However, unlike most partners she is one that needs you more than most. She is always loyal and always pleased to see you each and every day. She is a service dog.
Unlike their human counterparts, there are very few law enforcement officers or military personnel trained to provide first aid to a canine during an emergency or battle. To better assist their canine counterparts in case of an emergency, K9 teams from the Pensacola Police Department, Florida Highway Patrol, Navy and Air Force participated in a K9 Tactical Emergency Casualty Care course hosted by the Army Reserve’s 350th Civil Affairs Command, May 6.
“For our K9 partners, you (the handler) are the first responder,” said Dr. Lee Palmer, an Assistant Professor at Auburn University’s Wilford & Kate Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital and instructor for the K9 TECC course.
“Just as a service member or patrol officer, we would want someone there immediately should one of us go down our working dogs deserve the same,” said Palmer. “For our canine counterparts it is crucial that we or even our fellow police officers or servicemembers know what to do in case of an emergency.”
The K9 TECC course covered topics of addressing stab or gunshot wounds, broken limbs and dehydration. However, Palmer said the most important topic for attendees to take away is properly preparing beforehand.
“The most invaluable lesson we can stress is to have a contingency plan, and then a contingency plan for that plan,” said Palmer. “This could mean always mapping out where the closest emergency veterinarian is or carrying cooling blankets as part of the daily assessment before going on patrol. Same as handlers have to learn to check the vitals of the working dogs to notice subtle health changes before putting their partners at risk.”
Due to budget restrictions and agency policies, many law enforcement agencies do not have the resources to train working dog handlers on how to perform emergency medical treatment on their canine counterparts, or have Veterinarian Emergency Medical Technicians on staff, said Palmer.
"Often agencies do not have the available budget to conduct K9 Casualty training for our officers," said James Parsons, a K9 Handler with the Pensacola Police Department. "The opportunity and training the (350th CACOM) Army Reserve was able to provide for our officers is fantastic and we hope to continue taking part of these opportunities."
The opportunity to provide the K9 Tactical Emergency Casualty training to not only our local law enforcement but other military branches is a unique mission of the Army Reserve’s Civil Affairs, said Maj. Jim Watson, a veterinarian with the 350th CACOM.
“Part of what sets Civil Affairs apart from other branches, or organizations within the military is the Civil Affair’s mission to provide training and education to the civilian community,” said Watson. “So being able to provide this training to our local law enforcement and fellow military branches really was a win-win for everyone.”
The 350th CACOM has over 1,100 personnel under its command, mostly Army Reservists whose civilian expertise was needed to support military efforts abroad. Civil affairs soldiers are the Army's experts on working with civilian authorities and setting up civilian governments in the wake of wars and natural disasters.
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.11.2017 16:29 |
| Story ID: | 233537 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 141 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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