Canine tactical field care part three - thoracic and abdominal trauma.

Military and law enforcement agencies have seen a dramatic increase in the utilization of working canines both at home and in foreign deployments. Due to the fact that professional veterinary care is sometimes distant from internal disaster or foreign deployment sites, the military medic, police tactical medic, or other first-response medical care provider may be charged with providing emergency or even basic, non-emergency veterinary care to working canines. (Editor's Note: Military veterinary detachments are collocated next to the major human treatment facilities in a deployment environment. In a deployed environment veterinary care is located in areas where they are most needed or where most of the animals are located.) The medical principles involved in treating canines are essentially the same as those for treating humans, but the human healthcare provider needs basic information on canine anatomy and physiology and common emergency conditions in order to provide good basic veterinary care until a higher level of veterinary care can be obtained. This article represents the third in a series of articles designed to provide condensed, basic veterinary information on the medical care of working canines, to include military working dogs (MWDs), police canines, federal agency employed working canines, and search and rescue dogs, to those who are normally charged with tactical or first responder medical care of human patients. This article provides and overview of the diagnosis and treatment of common traumatic injuries to the thorax and abdomen.

Canine tactical field care. Part two--Massive hemorrhage control and physiologic stabilization of the volume depleted, shock-affected, or heatstroke-affected canine.

Military and law enforcement agencies have seen a dramatic increase in the utilization of military working dogs (MWDs) and working canine officers, respectively both at home and in foreign deployments. Due to the fact that professional veterinary care is often distant from internal disaster or foreign deployment sites, the military medic, police tactical medic, or other first-response medical care providers may be charged with providing emergency or even basic, non-emergency veterinary care to working canines. The medical principles involved in treating canines are essentially the same as those for treating humans; however, the human healthcare provider needs basic information on canine anatomy and physiology, and common emergency conditions, in order to provide good basic veterinary care until a higher level of veterinary care can be obtained. This article represents the second in a series designed to provide condensed, basic veterinary information on the medical care of working canines, including police canines, federal agency employed working canines, and search-and-rescue dogs, in addition to the MWD, to those who are normally charged with tactical or first responder medical care of human patients. This article focuses on diagnosing and treating some of the more common high-mortality conditions affecting canines in the field including massive hemorrhage, volume-depletion, shock, and heatstroke.