By Emily Crisman
Chattanooga Times Free Press
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — New legislation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly provides a clear legal pathway for emergency medical services personnel to stabilize and transport K-9s injured in the line of duty without fear of liability or veterinary practice violations.
“The law wasn’t really clear on the medical emergency medical transport for K-9s,” state Sen. Bo Watson, R- North Chattanooga, one of the bill’s sponsors, said by phone. “When a K-9 was injured in the field of duty, police officers or handlers simply put them in their car or whatever vehicle they had available and transported them with none of the emergency medical training that is necessary to sustain life.”
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The bill emphasizes that human life always comes first, and the care emergency medical services personnel are authorized to provide to K-9s is limited to emergency stabilization, state Rep. Michele Reneau, R- Hixson, another sponsor of the bill, said on the House floor April 2 .
It also offers good faith immunity to emergency medical services personnel, she said.
“EMS personnel can act without fear of civil, criminal or professional consequences when they are simply trying to do the right thing in an emergency,” Reneau said.
Watson said conversations with law enforcement and emergency medical services personnel about challenges of providing emergency medical transportation to injured K-9s inspired the legislation, which allows emergency medical transport by both ground and air, he said.
“This is a perfect example of where, contrary to popular opinion, legislators listen to people in their community,” Watson said. " Rep. Reneau and I saw a problem in the law and, unanimously, the legislature fixed it.”
Several weeks after the bill was signed into law in April, a K-9 from Clay County, North Carolina, was transported by Erlanger Life Force Air Medical under the new legislation and is now back on duty, Watson said.
“In an emergency situation, every second counts,” Watson said. “These are sworn law enforcement officers, and we have a long history of taking really good care of law enforcement, so we wanted to be sure that the care that was necessary for them could be provided”
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