Paramedics and firemen...and dogs?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Feanaro_s_Wife
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Feanaro_s_Wife

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Wasn’t sure where to ask this question, so I figured my good old family life friends could help me out.
Has anyone ever been in this situation, either as the paramedic/fireman or as the…would I call te a “victim”? “Patient” doesn’t work…
Oh, whatever…here is the scenario.
You call 911 because you feel ill and are stuck either in bed or whatever (point being you can’t move around). You have a large guard dog in the house. How do the paramedics get in? Do they break in if the door is locked? Do they carry anything to specifically deal with potentially agressive family pets?
What about the fire department? If your house is on fire and you’re not home, how would they deal with the pet(s)?
It just popped into my head the other day when i had an allergic reaction and feared losing consciousness. I have a dog who does not like strangers even if I’m with him. I can’t imagine how he would react to strange people coming in and taking me away.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts!
malia
 
My husband is a cop and was on the fire department. I know he loves animals but if he had to choose between the life of a person and the life of a dog, the human would win. I know in the past he has pepper sprayed dogs that have come after him. If I were you I would have a “Beware of Dog” sign someplace visable. At least then the officers would know what to expect and could get assistance in containing the dog.
 
dkoinzan said:
My husband is a cop and was on the fire department. I know he loves animals but if he had to choose between the life of a person and the life of a dog, the human would win. I know in the past he has pepper sprayed dogs that have come after him. If I were you I would have a “Beware of Dog” sign someplace visable. At least then the officers would know what to expect and could get assistance in containing the dog.
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Yeah, pepper spray, I thought of that. But honestly I don’t even know what cops etc carry in canada, lol.
**About the “beware of dog” sign… I am not positive, but I heard that I could be legally liable if an intruder was bitten if I have a sign like that because it suggests pre existing knowledge of an aggressive pet.:confused: **
Anyways, thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut!
malia
 
Feanaro_s_Wife said:
Hi Feanaro, Our oldest daughter was born July 18th 🙂 She is 17 yrs now.

I would like to think that they have equipment that handles this sort of thing. Normally when the paramedics come so does the fire truck, standard practice I believe. I hadn’t thought of this actually, I have two dogs a Beagle and and Assuie/lab mix, neither are thrilled when strangers show up.
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there are decals some fire departments give out to place on bedroom windows, to show how many children and adults are in each bedroom, and also pet decals. Does your town do this? I think a beware of the dog sign is the best idea. they deal with this all the time, part of the job.
 
My thought is that paramedics and firefighters probably know how to handle dogs. In most cases dogs won’t attack if you calmly walk up to them without fear and let them smell your hand. I just had this happen the other night as we were all showing up at the boy scout leader’s house. They had a large German Shepherd in the entry who was barking aggressively at everyone who walked in the door. I walked up and petted it, and she sat down and enjoyed it. I held her collar while everyone else walked by. I just have a feeling that most paramedics and firefighters would at least give this a try first before pepper spraying a dog.
 
Yeah, pepper spray, I thought of that. But honestly I don’t even know what cops etc carry in canada, lol.
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Uh did you sleep through the APEC conference in Vancouver during '98 I think it was? 😛 RCMP should stand for Royal Canadian Mounted Pepper-sprayers 😛
 
Of course they weigh the situation. If the situation requires, if it is urgent, and the dog won’t give they are trained to shoot the dog. This is in the USA. Of course if they can walk in without getting hurt they will. If they can get by with pepper spray, they will. If tazzing the dog will work that is what they may do. If the EMTs come they may use a fire extinquisher to get by the dog, but if they can’t, they call the cops.

My husband is a dog lover and would really not want to be put in this situation, but ultimately the officer is worried about the person more than the dog. They are train to protect themselves and the people around them.
 
I was a 1st responder police-fire-medical in the USA for years before going back to school. No one wants to be bitten and every officer has different feelings about animals and experiences with them. Generally, how to handle someone’s aggressive pet is not taught in police/emergency medical training nor is animal control type equipment routinely carried in patrol cars or ambulances. I love animals and they generally love me but meeting and greeting someone’s dog is not my first thought in an emergency with lives at stake.

Since I carried a gun and an expandable nightstick, the aggressive dog might have gotten a crack on the head if it would not retreat and if that didn’t work it would have met an untimely end. We did not carry pepper spray routinely at my agency, but more agencies allow it on patrol now. (Honestly, I don’t know that I would turn my back to give medical treatment to someone with an angry pepper-sprayed dog in the room.)

I don’t remember our EMS in town carrying anything that would have worked on a dog. What EMS and fire would do was retreat and wait for police to deal with an aggressive animal (or person) before giving aid. Yes, sadly it could put the owner’s life in more jeopardy to wait sometimes, but they are the ones who chose to have an aggressive animal in their home.

Anyone who has a large dog that can be aggressive should get it trained so that they can give it a command to “stand down.” If the pet is important to someone, then they need to take the time to train it for its safety and the safety of other animals and people. BTW, my family used to have two huge hounds that would guard the family and house (indoor dogs), but they were not so mindlessly aggressive that a non-threatening person could not approach.
 
jc-servant said:
Anyone who has a large dog that can be aggressive should get it trained so that they can give it a command to “stand down.” If the pet is important to someone, then they need to take the time to train it for its safety and the safety of other animals and people.
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In my specific scenario, I would be at home alone and unconscious. I wouldn’t be able to give my dog a command of any kind.
This thread has made me worry about my safety and that of my beloved Bear if something were to happen to me that required emergency attention.
I just don’t see how I could do anything to make the situation easier other than requiring him to live outside while I’m home alone, just in case. But that’s not a practical option. This sucks.
Malia
 
First rule is to protect yourself. If your an EMT and get hurt, then you might need to call in backup for two, and one EMTs is not able to help. If they don’t have anything to control the situation, they’ll have to wait till someone who can does come. One thing is though, that someone is going to have to call, and hopefully that person can do something with the dog. If not, someone will have to secure the scene first, before giving care.

I guess if your conscience enough, put the dog in a closed room, before your alert status drops lower. You might want to think if you in that situation alone, you might want to error on the side of calling too sooner, than if others are around.
 
Feanaro_s_Wife said:
In my specific scenario, I would be at home alone and unconscious. I wouldn’t be able to give my dog a command of any kind.
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Service dogs can be trained to be in a “helper” type of mode and a “guard” mode. Perhaps you can look into getting some help with your dog from an agency or person who trains these types of dogs. If you want the dog in the house and it is aggressive, then perhaps a muzzle would be a temporary fix. It could still drink and you could take it off when it eats.
 
Plus you might want to consider that if you’re unconscious, home alone and help is on the way–you will have had to have called them yourself and passed out during or afterward. Otherwise they aren’t going to be coming to help you. So, even training the dog to go to a specific room once given a command and to stay there might be helpful.
 
We had a cop dog who was not friendly and very protective. She wouldn’t let anyone near the house and the she wasn’t even all that nice to other officers. She was my husband’s dog yet she prefered me to him. She even bit my husband at one point because I had given him to much attention. I know she nearly bit the sheriff when he came into our house without warning. She also went to get help when I was seriously ill and needed assistance. You are on a Catholic forum, so you have faith. Ask God to take care of you and your dog. Ask that angels be placed around you and help you through whatever difficulty may happen. Just enjoy and love your dog.
 
Many police officers carry dog treats for capturing “stray” dogs. My first instinct would be to try and win Bear over with a treat. Do you think that would work? I wouldn’t waste too much time though, especially if I saw you laying there unresponsive.
 
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