JACKSONVILLE, Fla — SUNDAY UPDATE: Huk had sustained three penetrating gunshot wounds; soft tissue injuries to the neck, hind end, and carpus (wrist) with several orthopedic injuries as well.
Huk had his wound dressing changed and cleaned Sunday morning. Vets are hopeful that they will be able to close his neck wound Monday.
A wound vac has been implemented into his treatment plan for his wrist injury, which has sustained the most tissue damage.
Huk will need multiple procedures as he recovers but is eating and resting comfortably on his pain medications.
Huk did spend time outside for some fresh air during his recovery Sunday.
We are thankful for the work that First Coast Veterinary Specialists and Emergency have done in helping Huk’s recovery.
ORIGINAL: That K9, Huk, was rushed to a Jax Beach Veterinary Hospital in a helicopter.
“Yesterday, we received a very emergent patient,” says Dr. Sydney Davis with First Coast Veterinary Emergency in Jacksonville Beach.
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Davis says not every day something like this happens in her line of work.
“Being airlifted in as a K9 officer, that was wounded in the line of duty,” says Davis.
This all comes after the JSO chased three suspects in a car that ended up crashing on Bush drive and Zoo Parkway on Friday.
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Huk was deployed after the suspects didn’t comply with police, and was shot during the incident.
Davis says she can’t go into too many details about Huk because of the current investigation.
She says there is a certain way they take care of dogs who have been shot.
“Trying to assess how long he has been down, how much blood has he lost, how long he’s been in shock, what our vitals are,” says Davis.
She says this allows veterinaries to assess other gunshot wounds.
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We reached out to Jay Nix with K9′s United, a local nonprofit that advocates for K9 law enforcement officers, he says Huk isn’t out of the woods yet, but he’s happy with how his medical treatment so far was handled.
“Their training was very clear and obvious because they went right into the action. They made some excellent command decisions,” says Nix
Nix isn’t sure if Huk will return to duty, but he’s hopeful he will one day.
“He’s still dealing with a lot. He has an excellent medical team that’s taking care of him right now,” says Nix.
Related: K9 ‘Huk’ recovering after officer-involved incident in North Jacksonville
Related: 2 suspects dead, K9 shot after shootout & police pursuit in North Jacksonville
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