MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police from several Mid-South departments gathered in Eads on Friday to learn about helping K-9 officers in an emergency.
More than 30 K-9 handlers attended the hands-on training at Eads Animal Hospital.
“We’re covering heat stroke. We’re covering seizures. We’re covering poisonings. A lot of these dogs are exposed to illicit drugs,” Dr. Tim Montague said.
K-9 officers sniff out drugs, track suspects, and do other tasks to keep communities safer. They risk their lives, like human police officers do.
“I spend more time with my dog than I do with my wife or my kid,” Bartlett Police Officer Chris Schaumburg said. “He is truly my partner and my child.”
He said he has had scares in training before, and his K-9 partner has even gotten hurt when he accidentally ingested drugs.
Schaumburg recently lost one of his partners, Pico, to a different battle altogether.
Pico retired from the police department when he got sick with cancer. He ultimately had to be euthanized.
Pico’s story spread like wildfire online via a support Facebook page.
Schaumburg said people donated to help with Pico’s medical expenses because after he retired, Pico was no longer the financial responsibility of the city.
He said through donations and a gift from the nonprofit organization “We Ride to Provide,” dozens of K-9 first-aid kits were gifted to law enforcement agencies in the Memphis area.
Montague offered to host Friday’s training to show handlers how to use them. Some of the veterinary staff even brought in their own dogs so the officers could practice basic care.
Officers told WREG this was the first thorough K-9 firs-aid program they have completed.
“It’s going to pay of in the long run,” Schaumburg said.
