WALLER COUNTY – Choas the K-9 has been to a lot of scenes, but it’s likely neither he nor his handler ever imagined ending a shift at an emergency vet clinic, but when things got a little too heated earlier this month, that’s where he landed, thanks to quick action.
Chaos is an energetic year-and-a-half-old Belgian Malinois.
As playful as he may seem, he’s also a dedicated member of the Waller County Sheriff’s Office.
A shift on July 7 proved a bit too chaotic for Chaos. Officials say the K-9 tracked a shooting suspect early in the day. He rested for several hours before being assigned to find a hit and run suspect that evening. Around 9 p.m., it was still very hot, and having been searching through tall grass with no breeze, Chaos collapsed. His handler deputy Chris Lucherk immediately called for help.
“Well, when the call first came through, there was a little bit of panic... this would be our first flight with a K-9 unit,” said Memorial Hermann flight nurse, Andrew lieberman.
Casting fears aside, moments later, a helicopter crew was in Brookshire ready to help.
“We got on scene, we muzzled the dog, we packaged the dog, and the dog was near unconscious so at the time it did not require any sedation,” said Memorial Hermann flight paramedic, Aaron Young.
Chaos was loaded onto the helicopter and after a quick 10-minute trip, he was landing at Vergi 24/7 Animal Emergency Hospital.
“The EMTs actually did a pretty good job starting him on IV fluid to get his temperature down, initially. Once he got here, we checked his baseline diagnostics to make sure his organ values were okay,” said Dr. Krystal Chan
Thanks to quick action, Dr. Chan said Chaos showed immediate signs of improvement. After a thorough checkout, he was released. Now, his fellow deputies say he’s back to normal.
Deputy Lucherk said Chaos is back to living up to his name.... since coming back, he’s already helped in four-vehicle searches. His fellow deputies say they’re happy to have him back on the force, and looking at Chaos it seems he’s happy to be back too.