First aid for 4-legged first responders
Kits ensure injured K-9s get best care
More than 25 police dog handlers received first-aid kits for their canine partners Aug. 21 — a program initiated by the death of a beloved Bartlett police dog and an Eads veterinary clinic’s desire to support the canine cops.
Officers from Memphis, several suburban departments and a couple of counties in North Mississippi spent the day learning about the kits and receiving first-aid training for their four-legged partners. Several of the 27 officers noted the advantage the program provides in case of injury, wounding or other problems.
“It’s a great advantage,” Bartlett K-9 officer Chris Schaumburg said, adding it provides “immediate care for somebody we hold as one of our family members.”
The death of Schaumburg’s dog, Pico, drew attention in May. When it was necessary to put Pico down because of cancer, officers across the area participated in procession for Pico’s final ride to the vet. Citizens lined the route, and the events drew sympathy from around the world.
That contributed to a later happenstance meeting between Dr. Tim Montague, medical director at the VCA Eads Animal Hospital, and Bartlett K-9 officer Casey Knight in the aisles of a Lowe’s Home Improvement store. Montague asked if there was anything they could do
to help after Pico’s death, which led to the purchase of the kits.
The kits, which cost $85 each, were provided by Holly Cripps of We Ride To Provide in Covington, Ga. The cost was covered by the sale of T-shirts honoring Pico and donations. The kits contain an array of supplies from scissors and hemostats to gauze, bandages, alcohol, eye wash, cold packs, thermometer and a plastic muzzle.
“These kits are really amazing,” said Jessica Sewell, who spent the morning outlining how officers should handle situations such as shock, snake bites, heat stroke, bleeding fractures and toxicity in their dogs.
Sewell, from the VCA Animal Hospital in Roswell, Ga., reiterated that the officers’ goal is to provide initial treatment to their K-9 partners and get them to medical professionals as soon as possible.
“Our goal for the course is not to teach them to be veterinarians,” Montague said, “It’s to give them the tools to get their canines (treatment) for the injury so they can get them to the hospital.”
Capt. Tina Schaber of the Bartlett Police Department said the approach differs from the current process — grabbing the injured animal, putting it in the car and hauling as fast as possible to a vet. This provides an opportunity for the officers to stabilize the dog.
“If one gets hurt, you go as fast as you can to the vet,” Schaber said, later adding: “Hopefully, this will give the human police officers a little bit of a safety net so they can get them to the vet. Maybe it takes away (the officer’s) feeling of helplessness for their partner.”
As Sewell was explaining the various contents of the kits — each with a memorial tag regarding Pico — Schaumburg smiled, recalling his late partner and how other officers still benefit from his memory.
“I can’t believe the support we’ve gotten in Pico’s name,” Schaumburg said.