Calgary EMS administers Morphine to dying Police dog

[njmedic1485]

No way the EMS team should be disciplined.

[brentoli]

It doesn't sound like they are investigating for punishment. It sounds like they are doing a study on the call. I would hope that would happen for any severely unusual call in any jurisdiction. Thinking out side the box is great, and is a cornerstone of medical practice. It is a good thing to investigate these situations where there is not any established protocols to be followed. Hopefully other members and services will benefit.

[JTpaintball70]

I applaud what Calgary EMS did for that officer. Serving dogs should get proper treatment too

[nremtp]

"They were on the telephone with a vet walking them through to make sure they had the correct dosage."

I can't see that they did anything wrong at all. Is this any different to Paramedics treating human patients outside of our usual scope of practice with a physician consult? If the RSPCA (in the UK) are allowed to euthanize pets without veterinary consult then why shouldn't these Calgary Paramedics be allowed to ease an animal's suffering under the direct instruction of a vet? It's not as though they just decided to start injecting a dog with morphine, they were operating under direct veterinary medical control. I have heard of EMS crews defibrillating dogs and fire crews giving oxygen to cats whom they have rescued from burning buildings. Is the media frenzy because the drug concerned was morphine???

And whoever posted those prices for morphine, I am glad I don't live in the USA. I have to supply my own morphine as a privately employed Paramedic (we have a statutory exemption rather than medical control and can obtain, store, supply and administer without a physician) and over here (UK) it costs 48p (80c) an ampoule for 10mg/1ml.

[mobey]

Update:

These paramedics were suspended for (sounds like) 2 days while the investigation took place. They were put back on car and no further action was taken against them.

I just hope the public does not start calling 911 for thier pets.

[TDP]

Wouldn't it be nice for Paramedics to have some sort of working knowledge of anatomy and physiology of domesticated animals such as dogs and cats to perform basic emergency treatment if need be. That would be an interesting curriculum additive. hmm

[Dustdevil]

With no muzzle, no vet willing to come to the scene and animal services still on their way, they gave Justice painkillers. Justice's pain subsided enough for bylaw workers to take him to a vet, where he was euthanized.

It took bylaw more than a half hour to arrive -- city officials are investigating a 15-minute delay for the call to be dispatched -- leaving medics the only ones able to help.

WTF is this "bylaw" thing they keep mentioning?

[akroeze]

Bylaw enforcement officers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bylaw

[WolfmanHarris]

By-law officers enforce municipal legislation. Usually parking meters and the like and are often catch-all's for different municipal jobs. They may handle animal control in some areas and I'd imagine it was that part of their job that was in play in Calgary.

[mobey]

A by-law is a local law not covered by federal/provincial law.

Examples include: No minors on the public streets after 11:00pm. No dogs with out leashes allowed in town limits. No open fires. etc, etc

The people whom enforce these laws are called by-law officers.

When the above article is saying "By-law to arrive" they would mean one of these officers. It is likely that City of Calgary by-law officers deal with stray animals... and since there was no-one readily available to take the dog to the vet, a by-law officer would assume that role.