When a Cape Cod K9 police officer was killed and his partner Nero was critically injured helping with an arrest in 2018, EMTs were prohibited by law from taking the dog by ambulance to an animal hospital.
Now, local EMTs and paramedics and 20,000 others around state are undergoing training in how to treat police dogs injured in the line of duty.
The training is required under the new Nero’s Law passed last April. The law is named after Nero, the Yarmouth K9. His handler, Sgt. Sean Gannon, was shot and killed in the 2018 incident.
Mansfield EMTs are currently training on how to treat police dogs with the help of a veterinarian from Bulger Veterinary Hospital in Lawrence, who is volunteering her time for the sessions.
At the end of the month, Foxboro fire officials, Tufts Veterinary Hospital and Gillette Stadium will host 400 EMTs from around the region for training.
The EMTs will be able to apply all the basic life-saving techniques used on humans, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the Heimlich maneuver and even administering Narcan in the event a drug-sniffing dog inhales opioids.
Naturally, because dogs differ from humans, the techniques and even the ways to provide comfort during treatment are different, Mansfield Fire Capt. Marc Goyette said in an interview Wednesday during the training session.
“We’re trained for humans so it’s second nature,” Goyette said. “Not everyone is a dog person.”
But for the first responders, some things will be the same.
“Just as it is with humans, it’s exhausting doing CPR on a dog,” said Kate Wilson, a veterinarian with Bulger who is conducting the training.
Nero’s Law only applies to dogs that are working for the state or a municipality and are injured in the line of duty. EMTs will not be treating and taking pet dogs to hospitals, officials say.
In addition, a wounded police dog can only be taken to an animal hospital if there is no competing ambulance call for a human.
“The number one thing we want to stress is that humans are first and the dog is second,” Goyette said.
During the sessions the EMTs took turns practicing on Samantha, Wilson’s 6-year-old German shepherd, a trained search and rescue dog for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Although EMTs have been assaulted and even bitten by people they have been called to treat, helping a wounded police dog can be dangerous because the animals are trained to be aggressive and are extremely attached to their handlers, fire officials said.
“We want you to be able to treat the dog but you can’t do that if you’re not safe,” Wilson said.
“It’s all familiarity and being comfortable with the animal,” Goyette said.
The fire captain said EMTs cannot simply tranquilize a dog because that could lead to other complications depending on the injury the animal suffered.
In other parts of the region, EMTs are watching a video required for the training that will be followed by a hands-on session with police dogs at Gillette on Jan. 31.
Foxboro Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Kenvin said the training is important because police dogs are used at large events at Gillette.
At concerts and football games, Kenvin said, there are about 20 K9 teams that are part of the security contingent.
Mansfield also has police dogs and sheriff’s K9s helping with security during concerts at the Xfinity Center.
A paramedic for 31 years, Kenvin said hearing about a police dog suffering an injury used to be rare but now seems to occur more often.
The first police dog to be taken to an animal hospital under Nero’s Law was K9 Frankie, a state police dog who was transported by ambulance in July. However, the police dog died of its injuries, Wilson said.
Another police dog was taken to a hospital in December and recovered from its injuries, she said.
In Mansfield, EMTs will most likely be called to treat police K9 Ronan and Bentley, the police department’s community resource dog, in the event the dogs are injured while on duty.
Ronan, a 4-year-old German shepherd, has worked with Officer Michael Fitzgerald for over three years and is trained in searches, narcotics and explosives.
Fitzgerald said he was happy EMTs will be able to help treat Ronan if the need should arise.
“These guys are professionals. They will be able to care for him, treat him and get him to the vet,” Fitzgerald said.
Other Attleboro area towns with police dogs or trained community service dogs are Seekonk, Rehoboth, Foxboro, Wrentham and Norfolk.
All EMTs are required to be trained even if their communities do not have a police dog, unless their town obtains a waiver from the state Office of Emergency Medical Services.
After treating a police dog, Wilson said EMTs have only one other duty: “Get that dog to a hospital as fast as you can.”
David Linton may be reached at 508-236-0338.
