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Ottawa paramedics learning to treat police dogs

Paramedics are often the first people on the scene when a police officer is injured in the line of duty, but if a new program in Ottawa is successful, a group of paramedics will be using their skills to treat injured police dogs as well.

The Ottawa Police Service has 15 dogs in its canine unit. The dogs go through at least four months training to learn how to sniff out missing people, bombs and narcotics, and one Ottawa police officer estimated that each police dog represents an investment of more than $100,000.

To help protect that investment, members of Ottawa’s Paramedic Tactical Unit are going through a two-week veterinary training program that teaches paramedics how...read more.