Photo By Thomas Mort | U.S. Army Sgt. Hugo, a military mine detection dog, assigned to the 94th Engineer...... read more read more
Mihail Kogalniceanu, Romania – U.S. Army Sgt. Hugo, a military mine detection dog, along with his handler, Spc. Burner, both assigned to the 94th Engineer Canine Detachment, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, participate in a nine line Hospital Exercise (HOSPEX) during Saber Guardian 23 at Mihail Kogalniceanu, Romania, June 5, 2023.
After receiving a simulated gunshot wound to his back left leg and abdominal bleeding, Hugo and Burner were transported to the role 3 hospital aboard a HH-60M MEDEVAC Blackhawk helicopter.
“This was his first time [on a helicopter] and he was scared obviously,” said Burner. “It’s big, loud and makes a lot of movement; all things dogs don’t like so he wasn’t a fan of it.”
When asked about the importance of training alongside our NATO allies, Burner said. “I think it's incredibly important. We have these incredible tools [military working dogs] and It's good for our allies to see how we conduct ourselves.”
Military working dogs are Soldiers that receive the same level care as their human counterparts.
“My reaction to treating Sgt. Hugo the working dog, I was a bit surprised,” said Sgt. Lake Patrick Goo, 512th Field Hospital, Emergency Medical Technician platoon. “Typically we have semi-realistic training models known as [K9] Diesels, to practice with.
Goo described his reaction as “pretty great” when he heard they were getting a real working dog in. “It was good to see the handlers getting in on it as well as the other medics.”
According to Goo, the dog is just like any other patient but adds another level of concern. “We can’t quite speak to them so we just need to do our best to work with them and the handler to render aid,” he said.
There are slight anatomical differences when comparing human and canine patients.
“Anatomy, for the most part, is the same,” explains Goo. “ There are some pieces of equipment such as tourniquets, that don't quite work on dogs compared to humans, just because of the different shapes of the larger aspects of their legs; A canine leg compared to a human leg is a little more triangular.
Fur definitely does play a role in treatment.
Your average human patient isn't quite as fuzzy as a military working dog, so making sure you have a good set of charge Clippers is definitely important for military working dogs,” concludes Goo.
The handler plays an important role in a canines treatment.
“Having the handler is very important to the safety of all involved in the field hospital and the environment itself,” Goo explains. “The first step to treating any canine patient is to muzzle it and the best person to put on that muzzle is the handler, because they have built the most rapport with this dog.”
Goo agreed that the overall experience was positive.
“Treating this canine patient, it's really great to see during this hospital exercise, to increase the realism of our training, treating all kinds of casualties, human or canine alike,” concludes Goo.
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2023 12:43 |
| Story ID: | 446510 |
| Location: | MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, RO |
| Web Views: | 306 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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