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TAMPA, Fla. – For the first time in Florida, life-saving air medical care is available not just for people, but for K9s injured in the line of duty.

Through a new partnership between Tampa General Hospital’s Aeromed team and veterinary specialists in Manatee County, injured K9s can now receive advanced trauma care during helicopter transport, dramatically cutting down response times when every second counts.

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What we know:

The Aeromed team at Tampa General Hospital is now trained and equipped to treat and transport injured law enforcement K9s by air. The program makes TGH the first in Florida, and the fourth in the nation, to offer this level of pre-hospital emergency care for police dogs.

Specialized K9 medical kits are now stored on each Aeromed helicopter. Flight nurses and paramedics have also trained law enforcement officers, fire rescue crews and EMS personnel across multiple counties in canine life support.

The partnership includes the Veterinary Medical Center at Lakewood Ranch, where critically injured K9s can be transported for advanced care.

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The backstory:

The effort began after a K9 in Highlands County was seriously injured during a mission. With no veterinarian immediately available, deputies had to drive the dog nearly 50 minutes to Polk County for treatment.

Flight nurse Donny Richardson with Tampa General Hospital realized there was a major gap in emergency care for law enforcement K9s. While military working dogs have established trauma protocols, similar pre-hospital systems did not exist in the civilian world until recently.

Richardson sought out training through Tampa Fire Rescue at MacDill Air Force Base and began building a civilian K9 trauma response program from the ground up.

How does the program work?

Training includes the use of a highly advanced canine medical simulator named “Hero,” a $33,000 trainer modeled after U.S. military K9 Astra, who served in Afghanistan. The simulator can bleed, breathe and replicate traumatic injuries, allowing crews to practice advanced treatment techniques.

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According to Richardson, the philosophy is simple: A heart is a heart, whether human or canine. 

Since launching the initiative, the Aeromed team has:

• Trained TGH Aeromed staff in Hillsborough, Highlands, Polk and Charlotte counties.
• Certified about half a dozen fire rescue agencies in the state.
• Certified 20 sheriff’s offices across Florida.

The program also includes the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

Last month, their skills were put to the test through the Manatee County Sheriff’s Offices Mass Casualty Incident Drill. The TGH Aeromed helicopter was staged at Mosquito Control. East Manatee Fire Rescue coordinated the flight takeoff and landing.

“We gave one of the deputies the simulator and the aircraft came, and he came running out with that simulator in both hands,” TGH Aeromed Flight Paramedic James Hutson said. “Our crews had no idea the receiving hospital had no idea. Everybody thought this was a Life Flight.”

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Why you should care:

Law enforcement K9s are often deployed into high-risk situations, from suspect apprehensions to narcotics detection and search operations. In trauma cases, minutes can determine survival.

With helicopter transport and advanced life support on board, response times that once took nearly an hour by patrol car can now be reduced to minutes.

Dr. Devon Diaz, a critical care specialist at the Veterinary Medical Center at Lakewood Ranch, called the partnership “amazing,” saying it allows injured K9s to receive advanced treatment faster than ever before.

The center is one of only three VEX-certified emergency and critical care facilities in Florida.

What’s next:

The TGH team plans to continue training agencies across the state and expand instruction beyond Florida, with upcoming training sessions scheduled in Kentucky. Diaz is also helping advance trauma standards nationwide through the rollout of the Veterinary Advanced Trauma Life Support (VetATLS) course later this year.