"There's a rabid dog coming in on that chopper!"

[VietDoc67]

    I was an Army medic assigned to the 24th Evac Hospital (Long Binh, RVN) in 1967. The following story is a condensed version of one that appears in the recently published book "Long Daze at Long Binh," a humorous memoir about my tour in Vietnam. My co-author and fellow medic Fred was working in the Emergency Room early one evening when a call came in on the radio from a Dustoff (medical evacuation helicopter) describing the casualties they were bringing in. Three were WIA's while the fourth was the victim of a dog bite. The pilot added that "we’re also bringing the dog for observation, over.”
    Fred keyed the mike on our radio and said “Roger bravo-niner, we copy one serious head wound... one bullet wound shoulder... one shrapnel in lower extremities... one dog bite... and one naaaasty dawg. What’s the disposition of this dawg? Over.” After a short pause, the pilot replied "Dog appears to be calm and relaxed, no outward signs of agitation. We’ll give you a shout when we’re three minutes from touchdown. Three-six-bravo-niner, over and out.”
    Fred goes next door to alert Headquarters and the OD says “Where in the hell are we going to put a rabid dog? Do we have a cage or anything like that?” A stunned silence pervades the Orderly Room for a moment, then the ever resourceful Company Clerk, SP4 Maxwell, says “I’ll get a rope and some welder’s gloves from the Motor Pool and meet the chopper. If it’s calm and relaxed I should be able to handle it, sir.”
    On his way over to the Motor Pool to get the rope and gloves, Max stops at his hooch to borrow a catcher's mask belonging to one of his buddies. At the Motor Pool, the PFC on duty says “What's going on? Are we under attack?” Max replies “Not exactly... but there’s definitely a rabid dog coming in on a chopper, and I get to be the designated dog handler!” The clerk says “Whooeee, whatever you do— keep him away from me, man!”
    Soon a small crowd had gathered around the helipad. They were waiting to see how the medics (and especially SP4 Maxwell) were going to handle this vicious animal that was about to descend out of the skies in a flying machine with a big red cross painted on its nose. As soon as the bird touched down, Fred went out to meet it along with several other medics. Later he would say "As the chopper medic was releasing the security locks on the patients’ litters, I could see the crew chief sitting back in the corner, watching us intently. Normally he would be assisting with the offload, so I assumed he must have had control of the dog and probably had it tied up so it posed no threat to those onboard."
    As soon as the last patient was offloaded, Max donned his gloves and catcher’s mask, stepped up to the doorway of the chopper with his lasso and hollered “Ready for the dog!” At which point the crew chief stood up, turned toward Max and thrust out both his hands. Nestled comfortably between them was a ball of snow-white fuzz— the cutest little three-pound puppy that you’re ever likely to see.
    The pup looked like it might have been a Bichon Frise, which would have made sense since the Bichons were popularized in France in the 16th century and probably brought to French Indochina some time afterward. What’s more, it was obviously thrilled with all the attention it was getting— and determined to lick the face of any and every one who came within its reach. We never stopped to think about the fact that the rabies virus could be transmitted through the dog’s saliva to humans— or that rabies was a disease of the central nervous system that infected the brain and was usually fatal if not treated promptly.
    At that point Max dropped his gloves and mask and took the pup in his arms. It immediately started licking his face— and for Max, it appeared to be a case of love at first sight. As soon as all personnel cleared the pad, the chopper lifted off and was gone. And thus began the saga of Maxwell’s dog, “Pie.”
    (The story continues in the next chapter titled "Good news men, everyone gets a piece of Pie"— where you'll also find out how the dog got his name and what his favorite activity was. You can read all about the book and view sample chapters at longbinhdaze.com)

[USMarineCorps]

What a great story. I'm already hooked! Was the dog in fact rabid?

[BILL THE PATCH]

Gotta read it, to find out.

Sent from my moto g(7) play using Tapatalk

[VietDoc67]

11 hours ago, USMarineCorps said:

What a great story. I'm already hooked! Was the dog in fact rabid?

Quote

I won't answer your question directly but I'll tell you a bit about what's in the next chapter. First, the soldier who had been bitten wanted to know when he could get his dog back. But there was no way Max was about to give up his beloved Pie, so he had to come up with a plan. Then the Brigade Commander did a drive-through inspection, saw a half dozen dogs running around loose and blew his cork. He demanded that we get rid of every single canine, so Max had to come up with yet another plan. (He was ever resourceful.)

 

[USARV72]

Interesting story, our unit had several dogs on Long Binh in 72. believe dogs knew they were “ safe” on bases and would not end up as dinner. Our wrecker had a dog that went everywhere the wrecker went, ole Bosco......