Trauma Management of Military Working Dogs.

There are about 2,500 war and military service dogs in service, with about 700 serving at any given time overseas. Military Working Dogs (MWDs) are critical assets for military police, special operations units, and others operating in today's combat environment. The expectation, given the significant combat multiplier impact of these dogs and the intense bond between the handler and dog, is that injured working dogs will receive the same level of care as any injured U.S. military personnel. Veterinary care is available at multiple locations throughout theater, and the veterinary healthcare team is the MWD's primary provider. Yet, human healthcare providers (HCPs) may be the only medical personnel available to MWDs that are gravely ill or injured. As most HCPs are unfamiliar with medical care of dogs, the Joint Trauma System published a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG), a set of detailed clinical guidelines for managing life-threatening problems of MWDs encountered in combat operations. The CPG is available at the JTS website. This article is covers the most common urgent MWD care challenges HCPs may face.

Noncombat-related injuries or illnesses incurred by military working dogs in a combat zone.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the most common types of noncombat-related injuries or illnesses in military working dogs in a combat zone. DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive study. SAMPLE: 1,350 patient encounters with military working dogs evaluated for noncombat-related reasons. PROCEDURES: Data regarding noncombat-related veterinary visits were collected on a weekly basis from 13 forward operating bases throughout Iraq from January 2009 through August 2010. Reporting facility location, patient identification, reason for evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment were recorded, and descriptive data were summarized. RESULTS: The most common noncombat-related disease processes or injuries identified were related to the dermatologic system (ie, primary [inflammatory] dermatologic disease; 338/1,350 [25.0%]), soft tissue trauma (284 [21.0%]), alimentary system (231 [17.1%]), or musculoskeletal system (193 [14.3%]). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Veterinary Corps officers need to be proficient not only in the management of combat-related injuries but also in the treatment of routine illnesses and injuries. Knowledge of noncombat-related diseases and injuries commonly incurred by military working dogs can be used for targeted training for individuals responsible for medical care of these animals as well as for equipment selection and protocol development.

Molecular characterization of Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii genotype III.

The molecular characterization of a Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii genotype III strain (NCSU strain 06-CO1) isolated from the blood of a military working dog diagnosed with endocarditis is reported in this study. Several genes were amplified and sequenced for comparative sequence similarity with other strains.