K-9 officers receive free first aid training.
ROYERSFORD» Ask any K-9 officer and they will tell you that they can rely on their partner to save their life.
That’s why area officers are training to do the same for their four-legged partners.
Around 30 officers from areas including Pottstown, Macungie, Allentown, Bethlehem and even as far as Pittsburgh attended the eight hour training on applying first aid for their K-9 partners. The training was held at Stickman Brews, 326 N Lewis Road, who donated their space for the training on Friday beginning at 8:30 a.m.
“A couple of years ago we donated some first aid kits to the Pottstown Police Department and that sort of sparked this idea of bringing in a whole bunch of officers to do an actual first aid class lecture that’s a little more in depth,” said Dr. Mark Hanlon, medical director at Gilbertsville Veterinary Hospital.
The lecture was given by Paul McNamara, founder of Odin’s Fund, whose mis- sion is to provide first aid training free of charge to as many canine handlers possible, wherever there is interest and demand. In addition to his work with Odin’s Fund, McNamara also serves as chief of surgery at Hudson Highlands Veterinary Medical Group in New York and is consulting veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Justice/ Bu- reau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Friday’s workshop was free to all sworn police officers in the K-9 unit. Officers were taught about identifying and treating their partners in any medical emergency including ailments varying from narcotics ingestion to stab wounds.
“It’s been great. The officers are motivated to learn this and we feel strongly about providing this for the working dogs,” said Hanlon. “Mainly they’ll sit through about eight hours of lecture and then they’ll go home and peruse the booklet they’re given to have as a resource.”
The training was provided to officers with the help of Stickman Brews, Gilbertsville Veterinary Hospital and Zoetis, the world’s largest producer of medicine and vaccinations for pets and livestock.