Pike EMS pair faced discipline for aiding dog

WAVERLY - The last three days had two Pike County EMS employees on pins and needles as they awaited answers regarding their suspension last week for helping a dog injured in a fatal wreck.

Nick Farmer and Tyler Wessel were placed on paid administrative leave after taking a seriously injured dog to a Portsmouth animal clinic for treatment after a Wednesday crash. According to Farmer, the two never received anything in writing and no policy was cited for the discipline. That's because it turns out there was no policy.

The Pike County commissioners on Monday decided not to discipline Farmer or Wessel and instead requested a policy be created.

"After talking to Kevin (Jenkins, the EMS director), we've had a lot of miscommunication regarding the dog being transported," said Commissioner Fred Foster during Monday's meeting. "We do not have any policies as far as treating animals ... We will have to come up with policies because we have law enforcement animals, we have service animals and, basically, we'll have to come up with policies on how we will treat all of these."

Foster went on to say the paid leave was done while they sorted out the situation to determine "what actually happened and how we can correct what did happen and make everything run smooth."

Farmer and Wessel had been the first on scene of the Wednesday morning crash at Ohio 32 and Ohio 335, Farmer said. The Ohio Highway Patrol reported James Smith, 68, of Beaver, was driving his pickup truck south on Ohio 335 when he pulled into the path of a tractor-trailer traveling east on Ohio 32.

"It decimated the pickup truck and killed the driver on impact," Farmer said.

After treating the tractor-trailer driver, Anthony Knell, 28, of Vanceburg, Kentucky, and getting him into a medical helicopter, Farmer said they discovered a dog trapped under the pedals of Smith's truck.

Farmer, a part-time paramedic who has been with the department since 2002, was able to get the dog out, which was struggling to breathe and had two broken legs. After giving it some oxygen and splinting the legs, Farmer said he asked for permission to take the dog, which he described as a dachshund mix, to the Shawnee Animal Clinic in Portsmouth.

Farmer, a dog owner himself, felt the dog was well taken care of and loved.

"My hope was the dog would make it and the family would have something," Farmer said.

After getting permission from the EMS chief, Farmer said they got another call from a secretary about nine minutes later saying there wasn't a protocol in place, however, he was never told he couldn't continue the transport. When he and Wessel returned to the station, Jenkins suspended them. Although upset with the discipline, Farmer said he never doubted their decision.

"We done it just because it was the right thing to do ... We're not trained to not do something," Farmer said.

Farmer attended a Thursday commissioners meeting where they met in executive session with Jenkins. Afterward, he was told they'd discuss the issue on Monday after getting a report from Jenkins. They spent about 30 minutes in executive session with Jenkins again on Monday along with Pike County Sheriff Charlie Reader who had requested to sit in.

Afterward, Reader said he will work with Jenkins, the president of the firefighters association, the dog warden and Pet Pals to establish a standard operating procedure for future situations where animals - including police K9s - are injured or in need of treatment at a scene.

During the meeting, Wessel, who declined further comment on the situation, mentioned to commissioners he had never received any policy manual in the two years he's been at Pike County EMS. Farmer said he wasn't aware of any policies in place either, but Reader said that will change.

"Know from this date, that I think other policies and operating procedures are going to start to be enacted so that everyone will have a standard guideline to go forward with," Reader said.

Overall Farmer was pleased with the outcome and hopes the policy on treating injured animals at scenes will allow them to do what he and Wessel did.

"I hope they take my suggestion to heart that we need a board of employees to help make, approve, and disapprove policies. Sheriff Reader, the man has the best interest in the county. I think he is going to do a good job especially for EMS," Farmer said.

As for the dog at the center of the story, it, unfortunately, didn't make it. Once at the clinic, the veterinarian discovered it had a broken back in addition to the broken legs and ultimately euthanized it, Farmer said. While not the outcome he'd hoped for the dog, Farmer knows he did what he could and at least helped relieve its suffering.