Calgary EMS administers Morphine to dying Police dog

[DwayneEMTP]

Happiness, sorry, I forgot your other point, yet again I believe you misunderstand.

I don't claim that dogs don't have feelings, that they don't have pain, only that people attempt to endow them with human intentions that don't fit.

I just came from Kandahar, Afghanistan. Because I was acting like an idiot I got caught out in the open during a rocket attack (not nearly as big of a deal as it sounds) and some Marines came out and got me in an uparmoured Hummer. Had they been hurt, I would have been very upset, as they made a calculated choice to come out instead of stay in a bunker or go someplace safer. They did the cost/benefit analysis of seeing their families and loved ones again compared to doing their jobs. I have nothing but respect for that.

When Fido is sent after a fleeing suspect he's not doing it for honor, or making sacrifices for his fellow sentient beings, he's doing it because chasing and attacking things satisfies his instinctual hardwiring and makes his nipples hard. He's pleasing himself, and that is all that's in his mind. I can respect that too...I just simply don't confuse the two..See?

Do I have compassion for a dog in pain? Very much, I hate to see it. But I would give it little to no thought if allowing that thought meant that a human would suffer instead (and for the umpteenth time I'm not claiming that's what happened, only positing the hypothetical). I don't think any decent person would leave any living creature in pain if they had options, it's simply that, in this thread, being unwilling to say that I don't believe them to be equal to humans in value offends some people.

CBEMT I'm completely confused by your post. You quote my post where I make it clear I'm not calling these guys out, nor believe they should be punished and then claim I said they should have done something different and be punished. What's up with that?

Dwayne

[celticcare]

I will make only one comment on your reply to me Dwayne, because this will be seen as a whiny post but hey, can think what you like.

The fire comments from dust, are insulting, its not just my feelings in regards to this, its the fact that he was probably booted off the fire squad or something and so has a problem with fire monkeys as he so likes to call them. Be aware that not every fire department is as loose unit as Dust may believe or portray.

We protest and cry and whine about EMS will never advance any further on certain aspects, yet we knock and beat on the department that many of us should credit in some way, for bringing EMS to life. Specially trained firefighters and rescue squad members, became the first paramedics. I am not saying bow to the almighty fire service, I am merely saying that when Dust posts something that makes out firefighters are stupid or have no clue or anything of the sorts, it is insulting plain and simple.

The rest of the comments you made Dwayne, I frankly could'nt give a F**k what you like to think about me.

[spenac]

Wow some rude and uncalled for posts because someone chooses animals over humans and someone else chooses humans over animals. Shame. What a sad state we are in. I'm ashamed to be part of this group anymore.

Edited May 9, 2009 by spenac

[CBEMT]

someone chooses animals over humans and someone else chooses humans over animals.

Go ahead. Quote one of us saying anything like that. The medics in question didn't even DO that. You're the one who said he'd RMA somebody lying in the street.

What a sad state we are in. I'm ashamed to be part of this group anymore.

Waa. If you're going to be all passive-aggressive and emo, do it somewhere else.

Edited May 10, 2009 by CBEMT

[Happiness]

Okay Dawyane I guess that I thought that the original poster posted this to show a different side of what can happen in our profession and I was also trying to point out that at times your phycological side dosn't just let you read something like this and say hey this is a good story you have to pick it apart and not the good side. I dont think I misunderstood you as much as I thought when I read your post where is the just human side of you that can take a story and enjoy it. Im not thinking that any one wanted to applaud these guys it was just a feel good story and it has gone arye.

Sorry about your poor decision in Kandahar and Im glad it didn't cost you your life or the others that came to get you. Heres another story about dogs in the battle field. My father who retired as a W.O for the PPCLI has done many nato missions from Cypres to Bosnia and he always told me stories about the fact that when he did these missions he always found a dog and shared his food with it. For many years I thought that wow what a great guy he saved a dog while he was there. In fact the only reason he did this was so that the relationship he had with these animals was so they would warn him if someone came near where he was and yes the dogs thought of him as the food supply and did save his ass a few times. Now my father is the type of man that will teach a dog to salute and the cat to die when shot and yes he truely loves his animals. Now one day I asked what ever happened to the dogs when he left his duty, and his answer was he shot them so that they would be put out of their misery because once he left he knew that they would probably starve to death. So when you make the comments of dog behaivor I dont disagree but the story was about the fact we as human beings will help others them being people or animal. I think the emts did what they could to get to their patient and lets face the fact the guy didn't have life threating injuries and the time could be taken to make his best friend more comfortable.

One more thing about what can happen to paramedics who loose the reasons why we do this job. I for one do it for my community and it is not my career. The other day we had a station visit from our superintendent and his boss. Now this boss made a statement that made me think if I ever think like this I will quit. He said to us that We are different in remote EMS because we are treating our friends and neighbours. Where as when we encounter a death or a very serious accident we act with our emotions. In the city they will go to the same kind of calls they don't react with emotion because they are not their neighbours and they can go to the next call without as many issues as we in the rual have. Not that what he said is untrue but when I dont care from patients and treat them the same way I would want to be treated is the day I quit.

Spenac I hope this dosnt ruin our traitor relationship because that would make me and then i would be

ps Dawyane ty on reading most of my posts with an open mind and actually admitting you like at least one lol

[mobey]

Wow some rude and uncalled for posts because someone chooses animals over humans and someone else chooses humans over animals. Shame. What a sad state we are in. I'm ashamed to be part of this group anymore.

Spenac my friend I am confused.

Are you saying these medics, in your opinion, put the dog before the patient?

Here is the way I see this call:

Paramedics respond to a scene

Paramedics find a stable patient suffering from physical pain and emotional stress.

Paramedic #1 attends to patients physical needs (spinal, pain control etc etc)

Paramedic #2 calls Med control (read Vet) and "deals" with patients emotional needs (dog)

Patient is loaded and taken to hospital.

I realize this is not the normal flow of a call.... but really.... I have also spent a few mins "emotionaly treating" the spouse or child of a patient which relieves emotional tension from the scene and my patient. I kinda think of this the same way.

Believe me... with ACoP and Calgary EMS reviewing the call with a fine tooth comb there is no doubt the patient did not suffer any further injuries based on the few mins it took to deal with the dog.

The reality is, they probably took him to a Calgary hospital and sat in the hall for at least an hour... possibly even turned over care to a hallway medic (as they are called)

[chbare]

Since we are off topic, are we really that different from dogs? I dare say much of what we do in life is simply fulfilling "biological programming." Guys, ever notice what happens when you see a hottie sweating it out on the treadmill in front of you at the gym? Perhaps, we are evolved enough to refrain from humping her leg like a dog (some of us) ; however, I dare say our "biological programming" and "operant behavior" still kicks in. Sure, we have fancy ways to describe our reasoning and understanding of our behavior; however, are we really all that different from the other animals of this world?

Food for thought?

Take care,

chbare.

[celticcare]

Spenac my friend I am confused.

Are you saying these medics, in your opinion, put the dog before the patient?

Here is the way I see this call:

Paramedics respond to a scene

Paramedics find a stable patient suffering from physical pain and emotional stress.

Paramedic #1 attends to patients physical needs (spinal, pain control etc etc)

Paramedic #2 calls Med control (read Vet) and "deals" with patients emotional needs (dog)

Patient is loaded and taken to hospital.

I realize this is not the normal flow of a call.... but really.... I have also spent a few mins "emotionaly treating" the spouse or child of a patient which relieves emotional tension from the scene and my patient. I kinda think of this the same way.

Believe me... with ACoP and Calgary EMS reviewing the call with a fine tooth comb there is no doubt the patient did not suffer any further injuries based on the few mins it took to deal with the dog.

The reality is, they probably took him to a Calgary hospital and sat in the hall for at least an hour... possibly even turned over care to a hallway medic (as they are called)

Mobey, the response from Spenac was more at the attitudes of posters prior to him including myself.

[Dustdevil]

I do not automatically put human life above an animal's life. There are a lot of pieces of human shyte out there that I could not care less about. And if a carload of hoodlum kids were driving like maniacs down my street, I'd rather see them all suffer and die than for them to run my cat over. I just don't subscribe to the the theory of an inherent value to human life that is that much greater than that of an animal.

I don't have a problem with people suffering. I only have a problem with innocent people suffering. And you can't get any more innocent than an animal.

[altamedic]

I may have missed something, but isn't our job patient care, and did the dogs partner the police officer, who most likely had a bond with his partner similar to a relationship, and part of our patient care is to ease pain and suffering to HUMANS, by this it was done indirectly by helping the dog.

Im not a pet owner, or lover or Bob Barker at all, but I see that this would be similar to a situation with a human that is palliative and actually giving a damn about thier patient and spending the extra 5 min at thier house to make sure that they knew someone care. Now I do refer to the "hand holding" calls to seniors lodges, personal residences, etc.

We have treated spouses with SL lorazempam post sudden cardiac death. I see a similarity here.

Last time I visited a palliative ward, more (general term here) people were suffering more from lonliness than that their diagnosis.

I digress, Sory kind of a soap box,

dog suffering = pain for partner

< Suffering = < pain for partner

I don't think that the dog came before humans, I believe that the Calgary Paramedics, or any other Paramedics would have treated a human before a dog.