By Rob Havice
Police K-9s and their handlers help find and detect a variety of substances, including fentanyl, benzodiazepines and other illicit narcotics. While K-9 teams undergo rigorous training, they might not know how to effectively mitigate the risk of drug contamination. That lack of awareness could prove fatal to dogs. This danger has only grown in recent years with the increased potency of fentanyl.
K-9 team activities that could involve drug contamination include executing search warrants and making arrests. Understanding how to minimize exposure during such tasks and handle decontamination when exposure occurs keeps a valuable police asset safe and on the job.
A historical lack of K-9 decontamination protocols
Historically, law enforcement agencies lacked protocols for decontaminating K-9 teams. That’s mostly because the topic wasn’t frequently considered before the rise of fentanyl. A dog exposed to something potentially hazardous was simply rinsed with water.
Decontamination policies existed for equipment, but those were often subjective. A policy might require a helicopter used to transport a drug-exposed dog to be decontaminated before its next operation. But officers might interpret that as using bleach and water, which doesn’t neutralize opioids.
The effects of fentanyl and the new range of novel opioids
The emergence of fentanyl and the ongoing evolution of synthetic drugs have dramatically changed narcotics detection for K-9 teams. Today, tiny amounts of a substance can result in an overdose or death. With most opioids, just a few milligrams can kill an average-sized adult and, of course, could easily prove fatal to a dog.
Because of the increased potency, K-9 teams have become more cognizant of the narcotics threat. But they must grapple with a lot of uncertainty. How much of a substance is dangerous when airborne? What are the contributing factors, such as air movement and absorption mechanisms?
Core risks for K-9 teams working with novel opioids
Coming into contact with dangerous drugs is the core risk K-9 teammates share. The hazard might stem from physical contact with a substance or inhaling airborne particles.
For a dog, which leads with its nose, the primary risk is damage to its olfactory system. That risk has dramatically increased with drugs like fentanyl, for which inhaling minuscule quantities can prove devastating. Compromising a dog’s incredibly sensitive olfactory system is like taking the engine out of a car. It just doesn’t work anymore.
Handlers should prepare for potential drug exposure, even if they aren’t directly involved in narcotics investigations. Some handlers may not want their dogs to search for fentanyl because of the health risks. But even so, an animal will still sometimes come into contact with dangerous substances. An untrained dog will spend more time on an unfamiliar odor to process what it’s smelling. This exposes the dog to more risk, not less.
For the handler, the core risk is the potential for overdose or death from illicit drugs. An additional concern is taking extra steps to protect the dog. When a dog enters an area and starts searching, it will generally bump into things. The dog’s activities could cause powdered drugs to become an airborne respiratory threat. Handlers should perform an initial walk-through of the search area before bringing the dog in. They should look for drug bags or other items that could lead to airborne contamination.
Common errors handlers make when encountering drugs
Some common mistakes happen at the beginning of a search. When handlers fail to maintain full control over their dogs in a search area, their canine partners can come into contact with suspicious substances. A preliminary walk-through and close control can minimize the potential for exposure.
The next mistake stems from insufficient training on drug hazards and how to care for dogs exposed to illicit drugs. Panic ensues when handlers don’t know how to resolve the issue. They’ll scoop up their dog and drive to an emergency veterinary clinic with advanced care. In some regions, that facility could be hours away. Time is everything when exposure occurs.
Training can help here, but it must be continuous. Handlers need to stay on top of evolving drugs, specific hazards and side effects. With that awareness, the handler can perform the initial triage on a dog in distress and respond accordingly.
Preparation is key. But smaller agencies might lack funding for the drug-decontamination training K-9 teams need.
The risks of poor decontamination practices
Limited training, lack of awareness and insufficient preparation add up to poor decontamination practices. These are some of the risks to the K-9 team and the people its members interact with, on and off the job.
- The police dog: When a dog comes into contact with a suspicious powder, officers must exercise caution with their decontamination methods. That’s especially the case when applying something to the dog to address the foreign substance. A mixture of products could cause a chemical reaction, creating an entirely new hazard.
- The handler: For a human, the goal is to avoid contamination in the first place. Handlers minimize the need for decontamination when they use personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves, goggles and masks. PPE reduces the chance of drugs entering the body. This is important for handlers whose first priority is helping their dogs when they show signs of distress. That immediate care means a handler’s exposure to drugs could be prolonged since the human partner’s decontamination is likely to happen much later.
- Law enforcement transportation: A stricken dog might be transported in a police helicopter or car. Local ambulance services could also have agreements to transport injured police dogs. Dogs, as well as handlers traveling with them, could leave traces of illicit drugs in air or ground vehicles. Unfortunately, transport managers may not have considered how to properly decontaminate their vehicles before putting them back into service.
- Law enforcement officers supporting the K-9 team: Law enforcement officers helping K-9 teams can be subject to secondary exposure. That becomes an issue if the teams aren’t aware of or fail to follow proper decontamination procedures.
- Family members: A police dog lives at the handler’s home, so poor decontamination practices can expose the entire family to lingering drug residue. A dog’s fur can hold powders, liquids or other substances the animal encountered during a narcotics search. If the dog isn’t decontaminated, it could transport those substances to the handler’s car and potentially back to the home.
The necessity of K-9 decontamination protocols
With so many stakeholders at risk, law enforcement agencies must have a narcotics decontamination protocol for their K-9 teams. The pivotal issue is mitigating the risk of vicarious liability. There’s potential for harm when a drug-exposed dog comes into contact with a powder and is later among police officers or members of the public.
Handlers don’t always know what they’ve inadvertently taken from a crime scene, given the small amounts of drug residue involved. As a result, they cultivate the mindset of keeping the evidence at the crime scene and not bringing it back into the workplace, car or home.
A K-9 decontamination protocol for ground evacuation
Law enforcement agencies should establish a decontamination protocol specific to ground evacuation. Drug-exposed dogs transported in a patrol car or ambulance create an obvious risk for the people driving or riding in the vehicles.
Here, the decontamination procedure involves cleaning the dog’s muzzle and then putting a soft muzzle on the animal. The nose is irrigated and a drape is placed over the dog, which is typically unconscious. The drape is secured so the dog can’t tear it off if it revives. An overdosed dog will often be administered an opioid antagonist medication. When normal breathing resumes, the dog will get to its feet and shake itself. This is its instinctive protective mechanism. A dog that hasn’t been cleaned and covered will send any residual powder into the air.
Decontamination also reduces the potential for harm after the dog has been transported to an advanced care facility. Without a safety protocol, the vehicle in which the dog was transported could become contaminated. Exposure to substances could endanger officers or medical personnel when patrol cars or ambulances are subsequently used. This is why any vehicle used for an evacuation must also be thoroughly decontaminated, along with the officers’ uniforms and all equipment used during the incident.
A K-9 decontamination protocol for air evacuation
The decontamination protocol for air evacuation is essentially the same as the ground evacuation process. The platform on which the dog travels in a helicopter, with the handler nearby, is in a very confined space, which underscores the need for a rigorous decontamination method.
In effect, the decontamination process involves creating a PPE layer for the dog. This preparation pays off when the dog arrives at an advanced care facility. Following a decontamination protocol ensures that advanced care veterinarians can start working on a dog right away without worrying about drug exposure.
Decontamination best practices for dogs and handlers
When a dog is exposed to narcotics, handlers should do what they can to neutralize the substance on the dog. Cleaning the affected area, whether it’s the muzzle, paws or fur, should be the initial response. The next step is containment. For example, cloths, towels or other materials used to clean the dog should be placed in hazmat bags. The goal is to prevent contamination from spreading to additional areas.
Another best practice is to monitor dogs after a search for signs of distress, such as difficulty breathing. Some handlers install video cameras in their cars, allowing them to check on their dogs when they are temporarily away from their vehicles.
Such practices, along with decontamination protocols, are critical for protecting K-9 teams. On one level, it’s investment protection: The cost of training and equipping a K-9 team can run into six figures. But mitigating the risk of contamination is a core duty owed to law enforcement’s animal partners. They depend on their human counterparts to keep them safe.
About the author
Rob Havice is the director of K-9 at the SoRite Company. He is from Medford, Oregon, and is a retired law enforcement professional with more than 32 years of experience. During his career, he spent 25 years as a K-9 handler and was also a SWAT operator for his agency’s tactical team. Rob handled six K-9s during his career, working with both patrol and detection dogs. He served as a Homeland Security Investigations task force officer assigned as a K-9 handler to a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area team. Rob is a master K-9 trainer through the Oregon Police Canine Association, where he served as detection chairman for 13 years. He currently serves as president of the International Police Canine Association. Contact him at rhavice@sorite.com.
