K9 First Aid/Trauma Kit

Law enforcement is like an extended family.  This extended family also extends to other emergency personnel as well as staff at the hospitals. We all work closely together to accomplish some of the same goals.  We have had the pleasure to get to know Rene Minnaar who is a nurse in the emergency room at Mercy San Juan Hospital.

Rene is a caring and giving person who makes our jobs easier and is always there to help us out.  It was apparent also that she was an animal lover.  She will always ask you how your dog is doing every time she sees you and will ask to go and see our partners if it is slow.  One night while I happened to be at the hospital I asked Rene if she could put together a list of supplies for a first aid kit for our K9 partners.  I told her we had been looking for a trauma/first aid kit, but had no idea what we would need in the kits.

Rene graciously accepted the challenge. Little did I know we would end up with state of the art first aid/trauma kits.  Rene spent several hours over the next month talking with veterinarians, researching supplies, and using her own knowledge to put the kits together.  She bought several small kits and would have me look at them to see if it would work.  I always thought the kits were great, but she would say they were not good enough.  I eventually got a phone call from Rene who told me she had finished the kits and to come down to the hospital and check them out.  I could not believe what I saw when I looked at the kits she had put together.  They had everything and more. 

We were now equipped to deal with anything so we could treat our partners long enough to get them to a veterinarian.  She had labeled all of the supplies and had put them into individual bags in regards for the type of injuries they would be used for.  This was the best part because when you are in a stressful situation you don’t want to take the time digging through everything.  I hope that we will never have to use these kits, but it makes me feel better to know that we have them in our cars. 

Rene and Doctor Leon Owns, who is a trauma surgeon at the hospital put the kits together using their own money.  To give you an idea the average kit sold through police K9 catalogs cost around $200.00 each.  They put together 13 kits for us, and these kits contained more supplies than one you could buy off of a shelf.  It always amazes me how supportive and caring people are.  It is individuals like these two who make the world a better place. 

All of us on the K9 detail and our four legged partners would like to thank them for their caring generosity in putting these kits together for the safety of our partners.  We would also like to thank everyone who has supported us.  Without you all we would not have some of the supplies needed for our partners.