By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A North Carolina sheriff’s K-9 was airlifted to a veterinary hospital after a medical emergency, marking the first real-world use of a specialized K-9 air transport program in Tennessee.
• The 6-year-old Belgian Malinois, named Luca, suffered acute lung injury from exposure to concentrated ozone at his department facility.
• Luca was stabilized locally before being flown by Erlanger LIFE FORCE Air Medical to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville.
• The transport program is designed to provide faster access to advanced care for working dogs and was developed after training simulations and dry runs.
CLAY COUNTY, NC — A law enforcement K-9 with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office was flown to a Tennessee veterinary hospital after suffering a medical emergency in what officials said was the first field activation of a dedicated K-9 transport program.
The 6-year-old Belgian Malinois named Luca experienced severe respiratory distress April 21 after being inadvertently exposed to concentrated ozone while crated inside a building that houses the sheriff’s office investigative unit, authorities reported.
After his handler rushed Luca to a local veterinary clinic in Hayesville, staff stabilized and sedated the dog for transport. Luca was then flown by Erlanger LIFE FORCE Air Medical to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville for advanced treatment.
Officials said the flight reduced travel time to specialized care that could have otherwise taken hours by ground, and the program’s aircraft and crews are equipped and trained specifically for working dog transport.
Luca, who has served with the department’s Criminal Investigation Division for about seven years in drug detection and apprehension roles, was in stable but serious condition upon arrival and was released from care April 23, according to the sheriff’s office.
The specialized K-9 transport program was developed to help working dogs reach advanced veterinary care quickly and was inspired in part by the 2017 line-of-duty death of a K-9 that did not survive a lengthy ground transport to treatment.