First Aid kits inspired by concern for police K-9s

When East Hartford police K9 Odin was wounded during a search last week, there was something his handler, Officer Steve Grossi, did not have that could have meant the difference between life and death for the injured animal: a First Aid kit for dogs.

While humans and their four-legged friends share many of the same items common to many medical cabinets, when seconds count, the differences where canine anatomy is concerned presents its own set of unique needs to emergency responders. For instance, a tourniquet designed for a dog’s smaller limbs could make a life-saving difference. Last weekend Officer Grossi had to hold Odin’s sliced leg artery to stanch blood until he and Officer Joe Cohen could deliver their injured animal partner to an emergency veterinary hospital in Bolton.

“If Steve had a good tourniquet to compress on that wound, it would probably have helped stem the blood, and Odin would have been able to make a little quicker recovery,” pointed out police lieutenant Todd Hanlon, who heads the K9 unit. “Quikclot”, a compound designed to help a trauma victim’s blood congeal faster, also might have come handy, added Hanlon.

Both items have been included in a special first aid kit for police dogs Michelle Enman, the town’s assistant purchasing agent, has put together for all East Hartford K9 teams’ police vehicles. An animal lover – Enman always keeps a water bowl outside her office in case one of the town’s K9 teams comes by to visit – Enman read a few weeks ago an article about a similar program in the town of Bristol and was intrigued. Why not do something like that in East Hartford? she thought.

“And then we had this thing with Odin. That made me realize that this is very, very important,” she said in her office in the basement of Town Hall. “It was a wound that could have killed him because he lost so much blood.”

Looking into the matter, Enman realized the price for a ready-made animal first aid kit made the purchase prohibitive. “They are quite expensive,” she observed. “Some of them can range up to $300. And we would be looking at getting four of them.”

It would be much better if she used her own professional experience in the purchasing department to explore the contacts the town has with its pharmaceutical suppliers. Enman realized she could assemble the K-9 first aid kits at far lower cost.

“Most of this stuff is stuff that we would use on humans, so we could either purchase what we need separately from the people that we buy our medical supplies from, or we could work with the Fire Department – they have medical supplies, too,” she explained.

The answer, she related on Wednesday, was an emphatic “yes.” By consulting with the town Fire Department, and by doing research on her own, Enman found out that a bag made out of a durable material, that would contain dressings, antiseptic bandages, gauze, ointments, topical treatments, as well as medical tools like scissors, and tweezers, could be obtained at a price around $100.

And the price would not go too much higher, Enman related, even if the town customized a little the kits – for example by including more burn-care supplies for Charlie Brown, the bomb-sniffing dog of the town.

Thankfully, she pointed out, some of the potential problems with the idea have already been solved. The town owns some of the more expensive items that may bee needed – EMT units, for example, are already equipped with oxygen mask for pets, and these can be used during an emergency. And the K9 police officers are already trained to provide first aid to their animals, so they would know exactly how to use the kits.

Since Enman revealed her proposal, her idea has found great support by everybody involved in the town’s K9 program, and among town officials. Mayor Melody Currey encouraged Enman to present the project to the Town Council as soon as possible. Enman is now scheduled to present her findings at the next Council meeting. Considering the thousands spend in acquiring, equipping and training each of the police K-9s, protecting the dogs and keeping them as healthy as possible is a good investment. She hopes that the kits will be well received, she said.

There are, of course, some more loose ends. For one, it has not decided yet how the kits will be funded – although the rather small amount that will be needed means that this shouldn’t be a major problem. On the other hand, Currey would like to see some kind of public involvement in the project – maybe by creating a K9 donations account, where people interested in supporting the units could contribute. And there are some other ideas, too.

Whatever way the town decides to realize the idea, having the kits in the K9 cruisers will be a great asset for police officers, in case their animals are ever in danger, lieutenant Hanlon stressed. And he wanted to give credit where credit is due, he said. “It’s a great idea, and it’s all due to Michelle,” he said of Enman.

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