Bulletin E-Edition:
Police dog is expected to recover after being hit by car on highway
By Cindy Powers / The Bulletin
Published: November 22. 2008 4:00AM PSTLola, a drug-detection dog for Oregon State Police who was struck by a car Thursday, could return to work in three months.
Photo courtesy Oregon State Police
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An Oregon State Police drug dog struck by a car Thursday night south of Bend suffered a collapsed lung and other cuts and scrapes, but her veterinarians are predicting a full recovery and expect her to return to work.
By Friday afternoon, 2½-year-old Labrador retriever Lola was resting comfortably under a veterinarian’s care, said OSP Sgt. Dave Beck.
She had undergone a blood transfusion, and a tube was inserted in her lung to keep it inflated, Beck said.
“Apparently, it is my understanding from talking to the vets, that it is the kind of injury that will self-heal,” Beck said.
And though Lola was given pain medication, she was still alert and responsive Friday afternoon, Beck said.
Lola was struck on U.S. Highway 97 about 14 miles south of Bend after she and her handler, Trooper Jason Hansen, of the Bend area command, stopped at about 5 p.m. for a break on a Forest Service road, said Lt. Gregg Hastings.
“They had gone to that area many times in the past, and she would get out there and run off some energy,” Hastings said.
Lola bounded from Hansen’s patrol car and took off into the woods. Hansen searched for her for about 20 minutes, Hastings said.
The trooper then heard that a dog had been struck by a car on Highway 97 about a half-mile from his patrol car, said Beck, OSP drug dog detection program coordinator.
“You would think that you are well off the road and you don’t have to worry about it, but, obviously, with labs they can really get going,” Beck said.
The driver who struck Lola did not see her until the last minute, Beck said.
“Apparently, she was in the road … running southbound in the northbound lane,” he said. “Once she got lost or disoriented, she was probably running to where she saw lights.”
Based on her injuries, Lola’s doctors believe she went directly under the car, rather than being struck by a tire, Beck said.
Which may have been to her benefit, because she didn’t suffer any broken bones.
She is expected to recover after a lengthy rehabilitation, Beck said.
“It’ll probably be about three months, with all her treatment and rehabilitation, before she’ll be back to work,” Beck said.
Lola came to Central Oregon in March 2006 to assist Central Oregon law enforcement agencies with drug investigations.
“The narcotics detection canines are trained to detect the odors from the controlled substances of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. The dog’s keen sense of smell is vastly superior to that of the human, and therefore is invaluable,” Beck said in an earlier statement.
Lola is one of seven drug dogs working for OSP statewide, Beck said.
Cindy Powers can be reached at 541-617-7812 or cpowers@bendbulletin.com.
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