Texas A&M, Washington County EMS Partnership On New Working Dog Treatment Efforts Takes Flight

Story by Ellie Hert, VMBS Marketing & Communications

March 2, 2026

Boots on the ground — or better yet, paws on the ground.

From the second they are dispatched, first responders selflessly lay their lives on the line for their communities. The same is true for working dogs, who serve as law enforcement officers’ partners, playing a crucial role in emergency response.

Ricky Pena ‘07, Washington County Emergency Medical Services (WCEMS) aviation lieutenant, has taken the lead on developing a new plan that will allow Washington County to treat critically injured working dogs as efficiently as possible if incidents occur in the field.

He and his team recently partnered with the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ Small Animal Teaching Hospital (SATH) and Dr. Thomas Edwards, an associate professor in the SATH’s Critical Care Service, to conduct an aircraft landing drill and K-9 casualty care training at the SATH.

“We’re glad that we can provide care and rapid transport in the event these K-9s get injured,” Pena said. “We want to do the best we can to support the team.”

The Sky Is The Limit

WCEMS’ special operations division supports law enforcement, special weapons and tactics team, swift water rescue, and Texas A&M Task Force 1, along with other regional and state rescue teams during emergencies.

Because several of the police departments and agencies they work with have working dogs on their force, WCEMS must be prepared to act if one is injured.

As aviation lieutenant for the special operations division, Pena helped devise the plan to use their multi-mission aircraft to transport working dogs.

“We’ve always had protocols to treat K-9s, but a lot of times, our operations are in the middle of rural counties where it would take hours to get that K-9 to a medical facility,” Pena said. “Now with the aircraft, we have implemented a procedure to transport those dogs if they get injured. Just up the street in College Station, we have a world-renowned animal teaching hospital and we need to utilize that.”

Last year, WCEMS began working with the SATH to conduct a transportation drill to practice landing their aircraft in front of the hospital.

During the drill, first responders landed the aircraft offloaded a simulated patient, met with hospital staff, and transported the simulated patient to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). 

“The purpose of the drill was to work out the kinks of communication because there are several steps involved,” Pena said. “It went great, everyone was very happy, and we got great feedback.”

Healing The Heroes

After the drill, Edwards and his team of experts from the SATH joined forces with WCEMS to conduct training on how to treat working dogs in the field. This spring about 15 first responders came to Texas A&M to work directly with Edwards and learn an overview of tactical emergency casualty care for working dogs.

“Working dogs are incredible assets to our first responders and are exposed to the same dangers as their human counterparts,” Edwards said. “It is essential that handlers and paramedics are trained and equipped to respond to medical emergencies for every team member – whether they’re human or canine.”

The training consisted of a lecture and four round-robin stations that covered K-9 anatomy, bandaging and packaging wounds, hemorrhage control, and a “catch-all” station that covered toxicity, heat injuries, and placing IV catheters.

“There’s actually a lot of overlap between treating humans and dogs,” Pena said. “During the training, we were tying in what we already know for human treatment and ironing out the specifics for how that relates to K-9 treatment.”

They even covered how certain materials and medications EMTs carry on their rigs can work for dogs, making sure they are prepared for any emergency that occurs.

Flying Forward

Both the aircraft landing drill and casualty care training were a combined effort from Texas A&M, WCEMS and their physician medical directors and the United States Army.

“This multi-faceted group of people came together to provide first responders with as much ability to care for these dogs as possible and get them back to the veterinary hospital,” Edwards said. “I think that working dogs are going to continue to be an integral part of caring for society, and we want to give them the best outcome possible if they are injured.”

As they continue working together to provide exceptional care for working dogs across the area, Pena said he hopes that both the aircraft drill and casualty care training can occur annually to ensure the teams can work effectively.

“It’s important to know that our mindset is to fully support every aspect of the team, and the K-9s are a huge part of that,” Pena said. “Our relationship with the university and the small animal hospital is growing. We hope to keep this going and continue to get some great training.”

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of VMBS Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu, 979-862-4216

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