- Survival Flight serves K9s in the panhandle.
- They are they only fight company who transports K9s in the state of Florida.
- Watch the video to see a demonstration.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A K-9's job is to find and make sure missing neighbors are safe. Well, sometimes the conditions they perform these tasks in can be life threatening. I’m Ashley Engle your Havana neighborhood reporter. I’m looking to see how this can save a K-9's life in an emergency.
It's a flight that can mean the difference between life and death.
But the patients in this chopper might not be what you think.
"The last thing we ever want to have is an injured animal, k9 dog."
Keeping the furry friends who keep *us safe...save on the job
Deputy robert Mata from Sumter County Sheriff’s Office says he's grateful for the training and resources highlighted in Havana at Florida Public Safety Institute.
Knowing this helicopter could save an injured k-9 officer is game changing.
"It's nice to have but I prefer not to use it. Because we are here, and we learn first aid to recognize those types of symptoms. But there are other times where there is nothing you can do."
For neighbors in Havana, the K9 tracking seminar is nothing new.
It's been going for 17 years now. But this year, this chopper brings a new focus to the training.
"We have survival flight coming out and they will be doing additional training on how to load the dog to be transported to a medical facility.
Logan Lane is the Director of Continuing Education at Tallahassee State College says Survival Flight serves k9s in the Panhandle.
They are the only fight company who fly's k9s in the state of Florida.
With these k9s working in conditions including Florida’s heat, their health is at risk.
Amanda Mackenzie is a flight nurse with Survival Flight. She tells me dogs have the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
This flight service allows them to make sure these pups get the care they need quickly in the case of an emergency.
"It’s really cool to be able to share the experience with them. But also, get their knowledge and pass our knowledge on to them. So hopefully there's other services in other states that want to pick up this resource like we're doing."
A service that handlers say is good resource but hoping they don't have to sit in the cockpit with their partner.
"Fortunately, we have this service for us for our k9s so I’m very exciting for us."
At this seminar there were 25 teams across 6 different states and multiple teams have told me this is the future for injured k-9 rescue.
