Woof!

[dfdex1]

Lets say you were called to a house fire with a trapped person or a medical call with a codeing paitent and the dog was vicious. How would you deal with poochie?

[Ratchet]

Personally, I'd leave it to Animal Control or the PD (if they handle this stuff). This would be one of those situations where you'd probably end up with more patients if you went ahead inside.

[Jmatteau]

If it was a True emergency and a matter of Life or Death, or saving a home, I would use a co2 extinguisher on the pooch. But, if the situation could wait, I would call the P.D.

[Firefighter1219]

I would ask the Sheriff's Office (SO) deputy that was on scene to shoot the dog (if the situation warranted it). If that wouldn't be possible I would either turn the hose on it with high pressure, or use some sort of tool to defend myself (ie beat the crap out of it).

[BFDexp224]

I thought thats what us exp's/juniors were for?hehe

[EFD840]

Good question!

Down here there isn't any animal control in rural areas (except that provided by Mr. Browning ) and law enforcement support may be 20+ minutes away. I'm sure it is worse in really rural parts of the country.

One idea we've kicked around is to get some retail-grade pepper spray and put it on the rescue and the engine but we've got some concerns about the potential for misuse by overzealous responders. Right now, I'd go for an extinguisher or hitting him with a stream from a handline. Lots of dogs don't like water in the face. I've got a 150-pound lab/newfoundland mix and a halligan bar wouldn't even slow him down. On the other hand, a supersoaker would send him running for the garden shed.

We're more worried about encountering a Cujo wannabe at a fire when the family isn't home. If it is a medical call, then the odds are high the patient or a family member will be able to control the animal.

Either way, you don't want to permenantly injure or kill it unless you're sure there's no other option. The dog thinks he is protecting his family.

[kghemtp]

Sometimes we're lucky enough to have dispatch tell us there is a dog at the scene. To hear them say "dog on scene, but it's friendly" should only cause relative peace of mind because (1) we're strangers, (2) its owner is in some kind of distress, and (3) we might be down at its level treating its owner. Add to that what EFD said about thinking it's protecting the family, and we can have some trouble. An officer would be great for this task, and I also like the idea presented about bringing a CO2 extinguisher in with us. When in doubt, I would rather wait for someone else to handle Butch or Killer. Good luck out there!

~Kevin
FF/Paramedic

[Duffman]

I've got a 150-pound lab/newfoundland mix and a halligan bar wouldn't even slow him down.

You must not be using it correctly.

[N2DFire]

Anybody ever think about carrying a catch pole ??

As to the question at hand - in a true emergency I would use whatever level of deterrent / protection needed to do my job. That means anything as simple as turning a hose on him to putting the animal down on the spot.

My safety comes first
My Crew second
The Pt(s) are 3rd

"Fluffy" is way way on down the list.

For the record I am NOT an animal hater. Love dog's - my previous pets were like part of the family but if it came down to them or me - I'd drop 'em like a bad habit.

Here in Rural America a deputy is a rare thing (and takes time to get here), Animal control is even more sparse so we're pretty much going to have to deal with the situation ourselves the best way we can.

[DaSharkie]

I have heard of a simple option touted in a few articles. I have nbever had the opportunity to try it but supposedly, if you take a portable oxygen tank, or even a SCBA bottle and crack the stem a bit the air rushing noise bothers the dog's hearing and the dog will back up. The same can be said for a water can or dry chem extinguisher. The noise and action can be used to force the animal into a back or side room so that a door can be closed.

As for shooting the animal - Most police officers I know would probably never do it unless their own life or the life of one of us were in EXTREME danger. This for many reasons, but the possible litigation has police officers' thinking twice about some actions they may take.

As a true lover of animals, I would never ask an officer to put down an animal without an absolute just cause and only after eliminating every possible avenue against it.

[RyanEMVFD]

we keep a spare cat on the trucks. if we see a dog that looks like trouble then we release the cat and the dog chases the cat away. situation solved.


**to the best of our knowledge no animals were injured during the course of this thread.**

[KYChief350]

AS a matter of fact, we ran into this situation just a couple of weeks ago. In this case, however, it was a "welfare check" where we were called by the PD to do forcible entry to a house. Turned out the patient was an obvious DOA, however their pet shepherd was standing on the bed next to the patient, and whenever we tried to enter the room the dog bared his fangs and growled - quite convincingly, I might add.

Since there was no obvious rush, we tried calling animal control, but it was a Saturday evening and there's no overtime money in the budget.....you can guess the rest.

Finally a family member who had the trust of the dog was called, and she removed the dog for us. I suppose, however, if it was a case where urgent care was needed, we could have had the PD shoot the dog....would have been a bad thing to do for a dog that was just doing his duty for his master.