Emergency Care of San Diego Police Dogs

VCA Emergency Hospitals are ready for anything, including saving the lives of canine heroes.

Police dogs work in extreme conditions, taking part in missions that may push them to their physical limitations. They also support police officers in dangerous situations, which places these working dogs at risk of trauma. The VCA veterinary teams that care for police dogs are always prepared to treat any extreme situations these canine heroes encounter.

In December 2025, VCA Emergency Animal Hospital & Referral Center (EAHRC) had to do just that as two separate critical police dogs were emergently presented to the ER within the same week.

When K9 Bowie of the San Diego Police Department was rushed off the scene of a multi-hour SWAT standoff, he was unconscious and cyanotic for several minutes. He was taken directly to VCA EAHRC.

By the time Bowie had arrived at the hospital, he had regained consciousness. Dr. Eleanor Lan and the ER team sprang into action with emergency stabilization, diagnostics and radiographs, all of which required sedation, adding a layer of complexity to Bowie's care.

Bowie's radiographs revealed signs of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, and he was given fluids and oxygen support. Miraculously, he was doing well enough to be discharged from the hospital the next day. Bowie was back to work 2 weeks later.

Only a few days after Bowie's discharge, the VCA EAHRC team was launched into action with another emergency from the San Diego Police Department - K9 Goraz. During an altercation with a suspect, Goraz was stabbed with a 10-inch butcher knife just distal to his elbow. An SDPD Officer applied a tourniquet on-scene, but Goraz continued bleeding profusely and entered the ER in critical condition.

The ER team at EAHRC stabilized Goraz with a blood transfusion. He was then placed under the care of Dr. Angela Sartor, a board-certified veterinary surgeon, who took Goraz to surgery to repair the bleeding vessel. Goraz's surgery was a complex, technically challenging procedure that required a specialist's expertise and knowledge of anatomy. The surgery was a success, and Goraz was discharged after a few days with instructions to follow up with physical therapy to help him regain full function of his injured leg.

Thanks to the spirit and resilience of both dogs combined with the expert emergency care of the EAHRC veterinary team, Bowie and Goraz made full recoveries and are back in the field serving and protecting their communities.

San Diego Police K9's are funded by generous donors through the support of the San Diego Police Foundation. SDPD has over 30 canines performing a wide range of tasks, including patrol, narcotics detection, victim support, explosives detection, and firearms detection.