Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas -- Air Force military working dog handlers and members of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Del Rio Border Patrol Sector, joined for training on how to provide medical care to a working dog at Laughlin Air Force Base, recently.
Army veterinarians from Fort Sam Houston, Texas, traveled to Laughlin to train dog handlers on how to tend to an injured K-9 in the field during an emergency.
“Our goal is to ensure the handlers are trained and well equipped to handle a medical emergency,” said Army Capt. Ambre Gejer, South Texas Branch Veterinary Services chief.
This training is done annually to ensure dog handlers know how to administer CPR, place an IV catheter, how and where to properly insert a syringe and more.
“This training teaches us how to recognize, prevent and treat a variety of health related issues with our K-9 partners,” said Staff Sgt. Shawn LaFontaine, 47th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler. “If and when a serious medical condition arises, the training we learned will buy us some time until we can transport the injured K-9 to a local or regional vet.”
Whether it be from heat exhaustion, a gunshot wound or an improvised explosive device, knowing how to provide medical care to an injured K-9 is an important skillset for dog handlers to have.
“It is important to remember that in many, if not all, cases the handler will be the first responder,” said Gejer. “Those first couple minutes could be the difference.”