380 EMDG helps provide care to military working dogs

Published March 18, 2014
By Air Force Master Sgt. April Lapetoda
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- When a military working dog becomes sick or injured, the entire team - both two-legged and four - feels the effect.

The 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron's military working dog section recently experienced this not once, but twice.

Military Working Dogs Celo and Max were medically evacuated from the base here during the last few weeks for separate medical conditions.

Celo, a 5 year old German shepherd, was being treated for lupus and developed liver problems due to the medication he was taking, said Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Lehman, 380th Expeditionary Medical Group Preventive Health flight commander. Max, an 8 year old German shepherd, was air evacuated for medical treatment after he developed heart failure and fluid build-up in his abdomen.

"(Max) was at the point where his heart wasn't functioning properly," said Lehman, who was a veterinarian and in private practice for nearly five years before joining the Air Force. "We couldn't properly diagnose the underlying cause of his condition, and treating heart failure requires more specialized tests and drugs than what are available to us here."

After receiving treatment both military working dogs are now doing better.

Max was stabilized, began heart medication and retired from service, said Lehman. Celo is on a new regime of medication and is still in active status.

Though the U.S. Army Public Health Command is the lead to care for all Department of Defense animals, sometimes they are not available and ask other veterinarians to help out, he said.

Lehman supports military working dogs here by getting medication for them, providing evaluations, and helping the handlers decide if the illness is serious enough to warrant further testing.

As a token of gratitude for the service Lehman provides the military working dogs here, the handlers presented him with a plaque March 17, 2014.

"Lt. Col. Lehman on several occasions went out of his way to help us take care of our partners and ensure they received the care they needed," said Air Force Staff Sgt. James Worley, 380 ESFS kennel master. "As a section, presenting him with this plaque is the least we can do to say thank you for all he has done for us.

"Being deployed here and not having direct vet support is not an optimal situation, in the event of an emergency having to take the dogs downtown or wait for a medical evacuation with the training we have as handlers can be a little intimidating," he added. "We are used to having direct vet support for anything that happens with our partners so having Lt. Col. Lehman here gave the section a piece of mind that we had access to someone who was veterinarian qualified to help us if need be."