There is no denying the fact that drug abuse is a scourge that many communities all over the world battle with. The economy always takes a tumble when many working people become addicts. Since the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire waged war over opium sales in the 1600s and 1700s, opioids have been the most preferred drugs by addicts. These days, police dogs routinely fall victim to K9 opioid overdose.
This often happens during search missions. Being naturally curious, sniffer dogs like to stick their noses in all sorts of places during routine searches and inadvertently sniff excessive amounts of opioids such as heroin. Without immediate medical attention, a dog that overdoses can die.
Fortunately, there are a plethora of training programs that handlers can take advantage of to ensure their dogs stay safe at all times in the field. Training primarily revolves around emergency response methods. There are several tools used in emergency situations.
The main antidote used to treat an opioid overdose in a human being is Naloxone. This drug works by reversing the effects of heroin in the blood. It is usually administered in the form of an injection or nasal spray. Luckily, the same antidote works on dogs too.
In a typical overdose incident, a dog is most likely to suffer from Fentanyl ingestion. This is a popular drug owing to its 50 times higher potency than heroin. When a dog inadvertently metabolizes it during a standard search mission, it may only take minutes for it to collapse and die. Owing to the significantly short response window, it is standard procedure for handling crews to carry Naloxone during every field assignment.
If you are a handler, there are some symptoms that you should easily spot to know whether your canine has overdosed. Immediate observable symptoms are weakness and staggering. Your dog may collapse or seem to find it difficult to stay upright a few seconds after ingestion.
When these symptoms manifest, proceed to check the heart rate. A vast majority of abused drugs slow the heartbeat to a crawl, eventually leading to cardiac arrest. From your emergency response, you should be able to help the canine avoid slipping into a cardiac arrest.
It is also important to note that overdosing often results in severe aggression towards anyone attempting to handle the canine. For this reason, you might want to muzzle it before administering the antidote. As a precautionary measure, ensure you have backup just in case it attempts to overpower you.
Respiratory failure is the trickiest complication to handle. This happens when breathing stops. CPR is the standard emergency procedure that one must undertake. However, handlers are cautioned against placing their mouths directly over the snout. This is because drug residue may be present in it.
Your treatment kit should have a face mask and CPR tube for this purpose. Once you put the tube in place, give the dog 10 to 12 breaths per minute. Once it gets it consciousness back, monitor it for about 30 minutes. If the condition worsens, administer Naloxone till everything normalizes.
This often happens during search missions. Being naturally curious, sniffer dogs like to stick their noses in all sorts of places during routine searches and inadvertently sniff excessive amounts of opioids such as heroin. Without immediate medical attention, a dog that overdoses can die.
Fortunately, there are a plethora of training programs that handlers can take advantage of to ensure their dogs stay safe at all times in the field. Training primarily revolves around emergency response methods. There are several tools used in emergency situations.
The main antidote used to treat an opioid overdose in a human being is Naloxone. This drug works by reversing the effects of heroin in the blood. It is usually administered in the form of an injection or nasal spray. Luckily, the same antidote works on dogs too.
In a typical overdose incident, a dog is most likely to suffer from Fentanyl ingestion. This is a popular drug owing to its 50 times higher potency than heroin. When a dog inadvertently metabolizes it during a standard search mission, it may only take minutes for it to collapse and die. Owing to the significantly short response window, it is standard procedure for handling crews to carry Naloxone during every field assignment.
If you are a handler, there are some symptoms that you should easily spot to know whether your canine has overdosed. Immediate observable symptoms are weakness and staggering. Your dog may collapse or seem to find it difficult to stay upright a few seconds after ingestion.
When these symptoms manifest, proceed to check the heart rate. A vast majority of abused drugs slow the heartbeat to a crawl, eventually leading to cardiac arrest. From your emergency response, you should be able to help the canine avoid slipping into a cardiac arrest.
It is also important to note that overdosing often results in severe aggression towards anyone attempting to handle the canine. For this reason, you might want to muzzle it before administering the antidote. As a precautionary measure, ensure you have backup just in case it attempts to overpower you.
Respiratory failure is the trickiest complication to handle. This happens when breathing stops. CPR is the standard emergency procedure that one must undertake. However, handlers are cautioned against placing their mouths directly over the snout. This is because drug residue may be present in it.
Your treatment kit should have a face mask and CPR tube for this purpose. Once you put the tube in place, give the dog 10 to 12 breaths per minute. Once it gets it consciousness back, monitor it for about 30 minutes. If the condition worsens, administer Naloxone till everything normalizes.
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