MWD dental appointment becomes joint-service learning experience

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Ashley Nicole Taylor
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
FORT WAINRIGHT, Alaska --  Military working dog Oogre traveled to the post for his annual dental check-up Dec. 19 with his handler U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Paul Gingras, 354th Security Forces Squadron. His appointment became a learning opportunity for U.S. Army flight medics who rarely get the opportunity to work on K-9s.

Animal care specialists perform various jobs that include providing routine daily care for animals and assisting veterinarians in surgical procedures, but these specialists aren't always around.

"We don't interact with K-9s often, but we are fully aware that the opportunity is possible in a deployed location," said U.S. Army Spc. Jonathan Seay, a flight medic assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 52d Aviation Regiment. "Due to a dog's stature being smaller, we have to learn how to give correct doses or else it could be lethal. Although the anatomy is different, we will take care of and treat a K-9 the same way we would any injured servicemember."

Multiple flight medics observed Oogre's procedure as U.S. Army Spc. Ariel Burden, a veterinary technician assigned to the Public Health Command at Fort Wainwright, explained her every move in detail.

"We like having flight medics in the room to learn basic techniques on how to care for a military working dog," said Burden. "The excuse of 'I don't know how to treat a dog' cannot work in the moment of a life or death situation and we aim to make it so that won't happen."

Dogs are sedated during procedures for the safety of the animal and the technicians. The handler is on standby to keep a close watch on their four legged partner and assist as needed, but also to saturate the information from the technicians as well. As the K-9 wakes there will be the familiar face.

"I learned a lot today on how to do basic care of Oogre, which is great because I haven't been in this career for long," said Gingras. "We really appreciate how well the Army takes care of our animals and the fact that they want to learn more about it makes me feel confident they would take the best care of Oogre and I when we go into a combat situation."