MSU vets assist disaster dogs

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State University veterinarians are assisting federal and state disaster response teams related to the July 10 Marine Corps airplane crash in Leflore County. The MSU College of Veterinary Medicine’s (CVM) Disaster Animal Response Team was deployed, and set up a mobile veterinary clinic, to provide care to military and federal agency working dogs searching for debris at the miles-long crash site. The team was led by CVM associate professor of pathobiology and veterinarian Carla Huston. The working dogs, brought in to support the military and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are being provided preventative care, and minor-injury treatment. The main challenges for the dogs, according to Huston, are extreme heat and reduced air circulation. The veterinarians are monitoring between six and eight dogs for signs of heat exhaustion and related issues. Since the disaster response team was mobilized, three veterinarians, two veterinary technicians and two support staff members have assisted in the field. (Source: Mississippi State 07/20/17)