Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue

“Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue” is the first edition of this comprehensive textbook detailing the importance of proper response protocols and the specialized tactics and techniques for assisting large animals during emergency situations. The expertise of large animal rescue and assisting large animals in the face of civil emergencies is an emerging field of specialty heavy rescue in the fire service. The authors completed an exceptional task of combining all of their personal experience and research/development into equipment and procedures with the knowledge of other professionals in the field (quite literally) and unearthed related information available in the literature into a well laid out and instructional text on the subject matter. This book has been well-designed for its intended audience; those in the Emergency Rescue and Veterinary related professions. The authors stress the importance of Incident Command Structure and personal safety during large animal rescue incidents and cite numerous historical examples. The concept of a veterinary/first responder team approach to animal rescue incidents is also highlighted throughout the text. The chapters are succinct and provide pertinent information without overwhelming the reader with technical details. Important chapter highlights include the behavior of large animal species in their natural environment and during a large animal rescue incident, understanding the importance and limitations of large animal restraint, transport of recumbent animals, field euthanasia and a special chapter on incident communication strategies. Individual chapters discuss rescue techniques for trailer incidents, water and unstable ground, commercial livestock trailer incidents and various animal manipulation and lifting techniques. Each chapter provides the reader with numerous photographs, diagrams, and illustrations detailing different techniques or incident scenes. Each of these depictions is well-described either in the text or in a byline accompanying the photo. The authors have included a list of acronyms used at the end of each chapter which may help those unfamiliar with the terminology. The appendices provide retail sources for the equipment described in the text as well as a list of equipment suggested for large animal rescue incidents. The authors have drawn upon various expertise in the field of communications, commercial livestock trailer incidents, and veterinary care to ensure a thorough discussion of the topic at hand. Included in the final chapter are problem solving scenarios where the authors detail actual large animal emergency rescues, possible solutions and the outcome of the incident with lessons learned. This chapter is an excellent teaching tool for those involved in large animal emergency response as it demonstrates the use of various techniques and the uniqueness of each rescue incident. One of the weaknesses of this text was the chapter on large animal field emergency medicine. This chapter focused upon patient assessment, including the maintenance of airway, breathing and circulation, taking vital parameters, wound care, splinting of limbs, and ocular injuries. The author highlights basic first aid measures which first responders would be able to put into practice; however, normal values for vital parameters have not been included in the chapter which is important for non-veterinary related professionals. Techniques such as tracheostomy, IV fluid therapy, and application of a Kimsey splint are described in basic terms. As this text is also meant for the veterinarian and to be applied in the field, the reviewer believes it would be beneficial to include detailed “how to” descriptions of various emergency aid procedures, including anatomical localizations, equipment utilized, and medication dosages. In this manner, the veterinarian has a comprehensive source for large animal emergency first aid procedures. Chapters have been devoted to documenting proper helicopter sling-load and large animal decontamination procedures. While important to be aware of these procedures, they require very specialized training and resources and are most likely beyond the scope of the reader’s capabilities. They are therefore minimized by the authors as expensive, difficult, and dangerous. This text is an extremely valuable resource for first responder agencies and veterinary professionals alike and it is strongly recommended for those individuals with an interest in large animal veterinary emergency medicine.

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