There is no denying the fact that drug abuse is a scourge that many communities all over the world battle with. The economy always takes a tumble when many working people become addicts. Since the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire waged war over opium sales in the 1600s and 1700s, opioids have been the most preferred drugs by addicts. These days, police dogs routinely fall victim to K9 opioid overdose.
This often happens during search missions. Being naturally curious, sniffer dogs like to stick their noses in all sorts of places during routine searches and inadvertently sniff excessive amounts of opioids such as heroin. Without immediate medical attention, a dog that overdoses can die.
Luckily, there are training programs for law enforcement officers that are tailored for such catastrophes. During training, officers get to learn how to respond to overdoses by their K9s on emergency basis. Emergency handling is usually done using a set of tools that every K9 officer must be comfortable to handle at the end of training.
Naloxone is the primary drug that doctors administer to overdose patients. It has compounds that actively reverse the negative effects of heroin and other opioids in the blood. Administration is done by injecting it directly into the blood stream or using it as a nasal spray. The good thing is that this antidote has been proven to work on dogs too.
During an overdose incident, the most potent killer for a dog is Fentanyl. With potency that is 50 times the standard potency of heroin, many drug addicts have a liking for it. When a working sniffer dog ingests during its sniffing mission, it is likely to collapse and die in a matter of minutes. As the treatment window is relatively short, it is advisable for handlers to always have the antidote on them when on field assignments.
If you are a handler, there are some symptoms that you should easily spot to know whether your canine has overdosed. Immediate observable symptoms are weakness and staggering. Your dog may collapse or seem to find it difficult to stay upright a few seconds after ingestion.
When these symptoms manifest, proceed to check the heart rate. A vast majority of abused drugs slow the heartbeat to a crawl, eventually leading to cardiac arrest. From your emergency response, you should be able to help the canine avoid slipping into a cardiac arrest.
It is also important to note that overdosing often results in severe aggression towards anyone attempting to handle the canine. For this reason, you might want to muzzle it before administering the antidote. As a precautionary measure, ensure you have backup just in case it attempts to overpower you.
Responding to respiratory failure is often the trickiest bit of handling an overdose. Once this phase kicks in, the dog stops breathing. The first thing you should do is administer CPR. However, you should not put your mouth in the snout directly as some drug residue may be left over in it. You do not want to ingest that.
There should be a CPR tube and face mask in your kit. Use the tube to apply 10 to 12 breaths every minute. When the dog recovers, spend 30 minutes monitoring it. If its condition worsens, repeat the treatment procedure.
This often happens during search missions. Being naturally curious, sniffer dogs like to stick their noses in all sorts of places during routine searches and inadvertently sniff excessive amounts of opioids such as heroin. Without immediate medical attention, a dog that overdoses can die.
Luckily, there are training programs for law enforcement officers that are tailored for such catastrophes. During training, officers get to learn how to respond to overdoses by their K9s on emergency basis. Emergency handling is usually done using a set of tools that every K9 officer must be comfortable to handle at the end of training.
Naloxone is the primary drug that doctors administer to overdose patients. It has compounds that actively reverse the negative effects of heroin and other opioids in the blood. Administration is done by injecting it directly into the blood stream or using it as a nasal spray. The good thing is that this antidote has been proven to work on dogs too.
During an overdose incident, the most potent killer for a dog is Fentanyl. With potency that is 50 times the standard potency of heroin, many drug addicts have a liking for it. When a working sniffer dog ingests during its sniffing mission, it is likely to collapse and die in a matter of minutes. As the treatment window is relatively short, it is advisable for handlers to always have the antidote on them when on field assignments.
If you are a handler, there are some symptoms that you should easily spot to know whether your canine has overdosed. Immediate observable symptoms are weakness and staggering. Your dog may collapse or seem to find it difficult to stay upright a few seconds after ingestion.
When these symptoms manifest, proceed to check the heart rate. A vast majority of abused drugs slow the heartbeat to a crawl, eventually leading to cardiac arrest. From your emergency response, you should be able to help the canine avoid slipping into a cardiac arrest.
It is also important to note that overdosing often results in severe aggression towards anyone attempting to handle the canine. For this reason, you might want to muzzle it before administering the antidote. As a precautionary measure, ensure you have backup just in case it attempts to overpower you.
Responding to respiratory failure is often the trickiest bit of handling an overdose. Once this phase kicks in, the dog stops breathing. The first thing you should do is administer CPR. However, you should not put your mouth in the snout directly as some drug residue may be left over in it. You do not want to ingest that.
There should be a CPR tube and face mask in your kit. Use the tube to apply 10 to 12 breaths every minute. When the dog recovers, spend 30 minutes monitoring it. If its condition worsens, repeat the treatment procedure.
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