Recovery time extended for K-9 officer injured in pursuit
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on August 31, 2017 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Officer Tom Collins' K-9 Ghost's mouth was cut during a building search. Ghost received five stitches the night of the search and two more stitches Wednesday after a few came loose.
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Goldsboro police K-9 Ghost is recovering after he was injured during a chase Sunday evening.
A fleeing suspect kicked out a window, and the glass hit Ghost in the mouth.
"Immediately after the glass was kicked out I noticed the blood was all over the wall, and that's when I saw Ghost was gushing blood from his mouth," said Ghost's handler, Goldsboro police officer Tom Collins.
But by the time Wednesday morning rolled around, you'd never know he'd been hurt at all.
Ghost was as energetic and talkative as ever when Collins got him out of the car, tugging on his leash and barking.
He is expected to make a full recovery after getting five stitches on the lower right side of his mouth.
Collins said the glass "cut almost to the bone."
But the injury didn't slow Ghost down during the chase.
As the man, identified by police as 35-year-old Larry Ray Barnes, tried to escape police, Collins said Ghost kept hounding after him despite the injury.
Barnes allegedly ran from police as they tried to serve outstanding warrants on him, hiding in a building in the 200 block of A Street before kicking out a window and hitting Ghost with the glass and debris in a last-ditch effort to escape.
It was only after Barnes was apprehended that Ghost went to the ground, gushing blood.
Then, Collins began working to help his injured partner.
He used two bottles of saline to wash out the wound before applying field dressings.
Another K-9 officer arrived and took Collins and Ghost to an emergency veterinarian in Wilson, as Collins sat with Ghost in the back seat and applied pressure to the wound.
"It took about 40 minutes to get him to stop bleeding," Collins said.
Collins had the supplies to help Ghost on hand in his "Buddy Bag" -- an emergency medical kit for K-9s given to the department through a combined fundraising and donation effort.
Capt. Theresa Chiero said the department did fundraisers this year to benefit an organization called "Vested Interest in K-9s," which helps supply police K-9s with protective vests.
Then, the Goldsboro Housing Authority donated money toward the cause, but the charitable organization said they had enough to supply vests and directed the agency toward the K-9 Defender Fund.
That fund, combined with the money donated by GHA, was able to get "Buddy Bags" for all four Goldsboro police K-9s.
Collins said the bags have supplies in them to help provide medical care for everything ranging from small lacerations to deep puncture wounds, and even hypothermia.
"Anything you can deal with related to the dog you can fix it with (supplies in) that bag, or sustain it until you get to the hospital," Collins said.
Collins said when Ghost arrived to the emergency veterinarian, they anesthetized him and gave him a complete physical to make sure he wasn't cut anywhere else.
"That's when I looked and could tell it was a lot worse than we thought it was," Collins said.
But Ghost pulled through, and is on track to make a full recovery. He should be back to service within 10 to 14 days after a visit to a veterinarian at Landmark Animal Clinic Wednesday.
Collins said some of Ghost's stitches had come loose, and they had to go back to the veterinarian Wednesday morning to fix that.
"He's not been himself, I'm sure he's sore," Collins said. "But other than that, this morning I let him out of the car and he's been playful. We've just got to be careful with him."
Ghost is close to being 3 years old, Collins said, and has been Collins' partner for about two years.