Medics treat different breed of patient in Iraq

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Williams
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  When members of the 506th Expeditionary Medical Squadron here received word they had an important patient waiting for them, they said they were surprised to see Staff Sgt. Todd Brabender standing there.

But actually, the patient was not Brabender, from the 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. It was his constant companion for nearly three years, Black, a five-year-old German shepherd.

“(Black) had a previous injury that was aggravated from the conditions over here,” Brabender said. “It never really healed properly, but nobody really knew that. So, we decided to bring him (in) for evaluation.”

“It actually felt nice because I miss working with animals," said Master Sgt. Johnnie Gandolfo, a medical technician. "It makes me feel like I’m home again. Black is a highly trained, well-disciplined dog. He has one of the best dispositions of any working dog I’ve ever been around.”

Gandolfo, a veterinary technician in civilian life in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is deployed from the Washington Air National Guard's 116th Air Refueling Squadron, based at Fairchild Air Force Base.

“I didn’t expect to (treat) canines at all," Gandolfo said. "It was a nice change.”

Gandolfo credits Master Sgt. Deb Alaniz, an X-ray technician, for helping with the diagnosis through the imagery she took.

“I took X-rays of the good ankle and the bad ankle so we could compare. He (lay) so still, he was such a good boy,” Alaniz said.

The deployed orthopedic surgeon, Capt. Dave Schillen, was the only one qualified to properly treat the animal.

“When they asked me to see Black, I was a little surprised," Schillen said. "Then I realized that I was the only one qualified to look at a stress fracture on a working dog, since we don’t have a vet in Northern Iraq.

“It was a little more difficult to work on dogs than humans because they can’t tell you where it hurts,” he said.

Schillen said the experience taught him a few things about the physiology of dogs.

“I realized they have a really high pain threshold,” he said. “It was difficult to find where it hurt. It was a little awkward reading dog X-rays at first, but … we were able to see that (the dog) had a stress fracture of one of the bones in his hind midfoot.”

Black was given a splint and plenty of rest for his treatment, Schillen said.

“They do a lot of work and walk all day,” Schillen said. "He is not in a position to do that right now. With appropriate follow up, Black should do just fine."

Brabender and Black will rotate out of Iraq soon so the working dog can receive further treatment at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

“(Black is) doing alright. You can tell that it bothers him,” Brabender said. “We just can’t wait to get back so he can undergo surgery and rehabilitation, and return to full duty just like a human would."