Daily Vet K-9 Down: Enticing canine adventures in NYC

Remember K-9 Down? This is an organization aimed at training cops, rescue folks and military personnel to deal with their working dogs’ injuries. I blogged on this a couple of months ago after meeting the group’s fearless leader on a veterinary cruise (yep, we have those). I was so sold on the concept I promised to lend a hand if I could.

To that end, I’m in New York City today so I can help out with the two days of intensive coursework involved in K-9 Down’s advanced first-responder program.

Frankly, I’m a little useless today. All the vets lecturing are specialists. My significant other, a surgeon, is lecturing on gunshot wounds and blood loss containment. Meanwhile, I’m making sure there are enough donuts…

Tomorrow, though, I’ll be a little more useful. I’ll be helping the fifty or so course attendees navigate the laboratory section of the course. IV catheters, endo-tracheal intubation, bandaging, etc.

I can’t wait. Considering the mostly male, well-toned military types in attendance, it won’t be a chore…

May 17th, 2008

Add Comment6 Comments

What a great group!!!! We have several K9's in our area departments, and our department has two. Our two are black labs and we use them for drug detection and tracking.

A nearby PD, a few years ago, had their K9, Tommy, get injured during a foot pursuit. A man jumped on a car and was threatening officers with a knife. Tommy was sent in, and in the course of restraining the suspect, Tommy was stabbed several times.

Happy ending- Tommy survived. I wasn't there, but I was told the typical scene at a hospital, where all the cops gather after one of their own is hurt, was recreated, only at the vets' office.

What a great idea, this group!

agadore's mama May 17th, 2008 10:49:00 AM

I wonder, how much good does it do to spend a weekend zipping through all the things that a human-oriented paramedic takes years to train in? Sure, a little knowledge is better than none... except if it tempts someone to try to treat the problem themself when they could be rushing to the hospital. Paramedics (if I'm not misinformed) know that in an acute situation, the best thing is to stabilize the patient enough to transport as fast as possible; is this aspect emphasized in your course?

T.T. May 17th, 2008 02:52:00 PM

TT: Absolutely! What's emphasized is stabilization via first responders. Smoke inhalation, gunshot wounds, etc. It's all just about keeping 'em alive before definitive repair. Most of these guys already know a whole lot about basic human stabilizaton so it makes our job easier: We just have to show them how that's best extrapolated to their dogs' emergency care.