An Insight Into K9 Opioid Overdose

By Ruth Gray


Ideally, K9 unit police dogs are trained to spot potent synthetic drugs. Nonetheless, there is a growing and unanticipated threat that the dogs are exposed to. K9 opioid overdose is a serious issue which police officers attached to these units have struggled to handle. For example, fentanyl is one strong painkiller normally mixed with heroin and has caused severe effects to sniffing dogs leading to their visits to animal hospitals.

Police dogs usually spot the location of opioids simply by following the scent sniffed by their noses. They are usually used to pick up such scents from houses, vehicles and various other places. Nonetheless, sever effects can arise when powerful opioids are excessively inhaled. Some of the indications of the likelihood of an overdose from the inhalations generally include the four-legged companions suddenly becoming unable to move. Some dogs will also exhibit a state of being under sedation.

Others will also have their eyes unfocused while also lolling their tongues out of their mouth, vomiting, stumbling and slowed respiratory rates among other various distress symptoms. Animal doctors have shown that these symptoms are actually linked to the overdose of powerful drugs like fentanyl. Fentanyl is amongst the strongest opioids medically used around the United States. The drug has resulted in a number of overdoses as well as deaths of the k-9 unit dogs.

The risks could as well be experienced by attached human officers. The officers are usually discouraged from physically holding drug samples owing to the fact that little amounts can be absorbed by their skin or even be consumed and pose severe effects. As such, it is imperative that officers and their dogs to ensure safety measures are taken to avoid sever effects.

Human officers can always protect themselves by having respirators and gloves on. Dogs are, however, more vulnerable to the effects since they have a strong sense of smell and are the ones usually sent to conduct the raids. The dogs usually lack appropriate safety gears and as a result, they will usually absorb the drugs through their pads and sniffing them up their jowls.

These symptoms experienced by these dogs are normally remedied by administering naloxone doses. Naloxone is an effective opioid remedy which when used, affected sniff dogs can resume duty within a day. The naloxone acts by deterring the effects caused by the opioid and reversing the overdose caused with very minimal side effects. K-9 trainers are usually encouraged to carry with them the antidotes to remedy situations where dogs are affected and exhibit signs of overdoses.

Additionally, both the human officers and dogs can have naloxone administrations done through injections and nasal sprays. Both the injectable forms and nasal sprays can be ferried along by officers who conduct searches with the dogs during raids. In addition, human naloxone can be administrable to dogs but when prescribed by veterinary officers.

The risks involved in the attempts to uncover illegal drugs remain largely unprecedented. Nevertheless, having a new level of precautions remain essential towards alleviating such threats. Sniffing dogs can now effectively do their jobs and have any situations of overdoses remedied.




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