K9FR Executive Director Brad Cole is interviewed by Robert Hudson from Pet Radio. Airs Saturday, August 8, 2015 at 1 PM EDT.

You can listen to the podcast at the link below:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/petradioshow/2015/08/08/pet-radio-munchkin-the-senior-beagle-and-k9-first-responders

“EMS is very much like the battlefield. We are called up in a moment, no waiting, just a second’s notice, and find ourselves thrust into incredible situations with very little information, or more often, inaccurate battlefield “intelligence gathering.” We try to bring an out-of-control situation into order and save a life by doing the best that we can.

Unfortunately, as we all know, sometimes our best is not good enough.” ~Bernie Meehan Jr.

After the calls Mr Meehan describes, there is a period of stress.  Sometimes even acute stress.  K9FR teams are one resource to help providers, supervisors and Peer Support networks help manage those situations.

http://www.emsworld.com/article/12095987/comfort-dogs-reduce-patient-provider-stress

What are the warning signs of traumatic stress in early age children?

The warning signs of post-traumatic stress, especially in early age kids, are commonly found in depression, regressive behaviour, bed-wetting, whining.  Kids that don’t want their parents to leave, or kids that are anxious – they don’t want to be left alone.  They are complaining about maybe what we call ‘psychosomatic symptoms,’ and stomach aches. They are complaining about headaches, they have physical symptoms. Also, we may find that they might start sucking their thumb again, or they might start biting their fingers again.  So, a lot of these behaviours are regressive, and so it’s very important that if we see these behaviours, that we do address them early in the behaviour, and don’t wait.  Don’t think that “Oh, it will pass”, because commonly it doesn’t. It usually progresses into something worse.

This video clip is part of the series “Mental Health During A School Crisis“.

Michael Dorn and Sonayia Shepherd (School Safety Analysts) gives expert video advice on: What is a school “crisis intervention team”?;  What steps should a school take to minimize trauma in a crisis?;  What are some common responses after a school crisis? and more…

Well intentioned comments, observations, or even congratulations about stopping a violent suspect may do more harm than good.  K9FR teams are taught this when dealing with a variety of people and circumstances.  Today’s focus is on Law Enforcement Officers (LEO)  Link below.

http://www.policeone.com/officer-shootings/articles/5015785-8-ways-to-help-another-cop-after-a-shooting/

What are the warning signs of traumatic stress in older elementary and middle school students?

In older elementary and middle school students post traumatic stress can come about in a variety of ways. We commonly see a person retelling a story over and over again or having tunnel vision or confused thinking. We also see fatigue, insomnia. Other symptoms can be manifested in physical ways such as stomach-ache, such as people saying; “I feel knots in my stomach”. The big warnings signs are, after a period of time anything that they are feeling doesn’t go away. That is a big teller and we want to decrease that and we don’t want someone to develop post-traumatic stress disorder. So anything that that person is feeling whether it be a headache, whether it be butterflies in their stomach, it’s important to tell a person this should not last, and if it’s lasting after six weeks then they need long term mental health care.

This video clip is part of the series “Mental Health During A School Crisis“.

Michael Dorn and Sonayia Shepherd (School Safety Analysts) gives expert video advice on: What is a school “crisis intervention team”?;  What steps should a school take to minimize trauma in a crisis?;  What are some common responses after a school crisis? and more…

What are some common responses after a school crisis?

The recovery part of a school disaster is usually the longest part. Commonly we may see students that articulate feelings of suicide.  We may see fights going up, we may see rage going up, and this is because anger is a natural part of grieving.  Blame often occurs during the recovery phase, simply because after an event, people feel angry and they are grieving and want to blame one another.  We often see kids maybe crying and sometimes we may see delayed reactions, sometimes upwards of six weeks after an event.  So, it is important to have staff readily available, have staff observing students, have some type of sensitivity training among staff to show them how to be sensitive to the grieving process of students and to also just let staff know that after an event, maybe up to six weeks after an event, that we just need to observe the students.  We need to see what type of behavior they are displaying.  Talk to the parents, and let the parents know what to look for.  Let the parents know behaviors that they are seeing in the students so the parents can intervene as well.

This video clip is part of the series “Mental Health During A School Crisis“.

Michael Dorn and Sonayia Shepherd (School Safety Analysts) gives expert video advice on: What is a school “crisis intervention team”?;  What steps should a school take to minimize trauma in a crisis?;  What are some common responses after a school crisis? and more…

Requiescat in pace Officer Compare

Michael Compare’s Obituary

Heidi Voight with NBC Connecticut interviewed our West Haven, CT partners.  Hear from them how K9FR helps make their day a little easier.  Video Link:  NBC 30 Video / WSFD & AMR Partnership

When a police officer dies by suicide, there are no words.  A need to attribute causality that can never be fully satisfied.  An understanding that may never come.  Wondering… What did I miss?  What should I have seen?

A Study of Police Suicide: 2008-2012.

1. Average age: 42
2. Average years on the job: 16
3. Gender/Race: 91% white male
4. Marital Status: 61% single
5. Prior Notice: 64% a surprise event
6. Method: 90% Gunshot

“Requiescat in pace” Deputy Chief Corbett.  May you help those in need by guiding them to seek peer support.

The past two days have been sad ones for the Junior Class of Jonathan Law High School of Milford, CT. They lost their friend Laura Gonzalez unexpectedly late Wednesday afternoon. Our thoughts and prayers are with Laura’s family and friends.

Thank you to Laura’s friends and classmates in allowing us to be with you during this time.