K-9s receive top care in deployed environment

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nicole Spence
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  In a 110-degree, sandy environment at a forward-deployed location, how does the mission go on when a military working dog is down? As with any combat zone, there are only so many things Airmen can do without the K-9s in place.

Keeping the dogs in good health is a top priority, and that responsibility reaches further then many expect, officials said. Veterinarians, contingency aeromedical staging facility members, flying crews and dentists are some people who help keep these mission-essential animals in top shape.

Veterinarians play an important role in preventative health measures by providing full exams about once every two weeks; however, the military working dogs receive daily health checks from their handlers, said Staff Sgt. Lloyd Evens, 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron kennel master.

A lot of the responsibility falls on the dog’s handler to notice any potential problems. That was the case with Tech. Sgt. John Vanderdrink, 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron handler for his dog, Basco.

Sergeant Vanderdrink noticed his companion had a fractured tooth; something military working dogs are particularly susceptible to because of the nature of their job.

Dogs can damage their teeth by biting hard objects which results in the tooth’s nerve being exposed, said Lt. Col. (Dr.) David Nunez, 386th Expeditionary Medical Group dentist.

“Veterinary medicine has a sub-specialty of veterinary dentistry; however, those specialists are not as widespread as human dentists. Therefore, occasionally, a human dentist is asked to perform these procedures instead,” Dr. Nunez said.

That is what happened for Basco when Dr. Nunez completed a root canal for him. Luckily, Basco was only out for a day after the root canal and was performing at 100 percent the next day, Sergeant Evens said.

Because of Sergeant Vanderdrink’s careful eye and the quick thinking of the medics, Basco did not have to be medically evacuated to Germany for treatment.

“Usually we can take care of them (locally), but if there is a severe problem that we don’t have the tools for, that’s when we have to med-evac them. We’ve med-evaced two dogs in the past eight months,” said Army Sgt. Mitzie Porter, 993rd Medical Detachment veterinarian technician.

“I really love every aspect of working with the dogs, and when it comes to their health, they are viewed as important as any Soldier or Airman,” Sergeant Porter said.

“The dog’s health is extremely important; without them, we would lose a huge force multiplier and that extra notch of security,” Sergeant Evens said.