posted August 25, 2026

Emergency air medical base partners with emergency veterinarians to provide special transport

UVALDE, TX – Aug. 25, 2026 – When K9 officers are injured in the line of duty, they can now be airlifted to emergency veterinary services thanks to AirLIFE TEXAS. The air medical provider recently trained its crews to transport police, fire, EMS, and border patrol dogs to 24-hour animal hospitals in San Antonio. There are over 200 K9 officers working within the AirLIFE TEXAS service area of 150 miles around Uvalde.

“If a K9 officer was injured or became sick in the isolated areas where they work, it might take over an hour before they even reached a paved road,” said Air Methods Area Manager Joel Ramirez. AirLIFE TEXAS is part of Air Methods, the nation’s leading emergency air medical service provider. “With our helicopter, we have the potential to land in these remote areas and get them to an animal hospital in San Antonio within an hour. This could easily be the difference between life and death for these valuable law enforcement team members.”

Establishing the program required identifying the agencies with the potential need for the service, then partnering with animal hospitals and supporting agencies to ensure safe transport. The Air Methods education team contracted a veterinary medical director to develop protocols and a bi-annual  Canine Trauma Combat Casualty Care training program for crew members. These procedures were tested last month when AirLIFE TEXAS, San Antonio Fire, and BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital conducted a mock transport exercise with a canine training mannequin.

K9 officers may be transported for conditions ranging from heat stroke, to gunshot wounds, to snake bites, and more. The AirLIFE TEXAS helicopter can land at the scene of an injury to load the animal and its handler, then transport them to established helipads where they will meet the San Antonio Fire Department for ground transport to either BluePearl or MissionVet Specialty + Emergency.

“In a critical emergency, seconds matter,” said Irina Cossio, assistant practice manager with BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital. “That is why the partnership between BluePearl and AirLIFE TEXAS is a crucial step in helping support our canine heroes – pairing people who are personally invested in the health and safety of these remarkable dogs.” 

While the care and safety of K9 officers is important, AirLIFE TEXAS will continue to prioritize the transport of human patients.

AirLIFE TEXAS provides an ecosystem of emergency air medical support across the state with bases in Lockhart and Snyder in addition to the base in Uvalde. Their flying ICUs carry industry-leading clinicians who are trained to provide critical care to human patients suffering from trauma due to accidents, cardiac and stroke events, high-risk obstetric emergencies, and more. They carry whole blood on board and can administer it in flight to patients suffering from severe blood loss and at risk for hemorrhagic shock. They are also the state’s only program to carry the ZOLL AutoPulse® NXT automated CPR device, which delivers consistent, high-quality chest compressions to patients in cardiac arrest, allowing clinicians to provide other critical care.