Vet saves four legged Airman

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman La'Shanette V. Garrett
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Staff Sgt. Mark Chojnacki, 2nd Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler and his partner, MWD Jecky, were on duty the night of Aug. 14. They were in the process of conducting a security check, when Sergeant Chojnacki heard Jecky yelp as if in pain when he exited the patrol car.

"Initially I thought he landed wrong," said Sergeant Chojnacki. "But shortly after, he yelped again. Jecky was acting a little different than normal, instead of his usual running- around joyful demeanor; he just laid down and looked at me like he was in pain. That's when I knew something was wrong."

Sergeant Chojnacki then requested the assistance of another handler to hold Jecky while he conducted a thorough health check and found that barely pushing on his abdomen was very painful for him.

Once Jecky arrived back at the kennels he was examined again by Tech. Sgt. Paul Eversley, 2nd SFS assistant NCO in charge. Sergeant Eversley determined there was a severe internal issue going on and immediately contacted the base veterinarian.

"The handlers are trained to perform a physical exam and assist the veterinarians in performing procedures on the MWD's," said Dr. Darrin Olson, base veterinarian. "With their help, we ran a complete blood count, serum chemistry, took abdominal radiographs and an ultrasound on the abdomen."

From there it was determined that Jecky was experiencing internal bleeding and his abdomen was filling with blood (hemoperitoneum). The ultrasound identified a tumor associated with the spleen.

With the help of veterinary technician Mike Bridges, Dr. Olson immediately performed an emergency exploratory surgery removing Jecky's spleen.

Dr. Olson confirmed that the spleen ruptured due to three tumors.

Jecky lost a lot of blood before and during surgery.

"If his condition was not identified by the handler in a timely manner, Jecky would have most likely lost enough blood resulting in his death," Dr. Olson said.

"We treat our dogs like they are our brothers or sisters and losing one in any situation is heart breaking," said sergeant Chojnacki. "Jecky is my partner, I trust him with my life."
Jecky, a German Sheppard born in September 1999, started his career as a puppy procured in Germany. His initial MWD training was conducted at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas where he underwent initial obedience and explosive detection training.

In October 2001, he arrived at Barksdale after passing all Department of Defense training requirements and certification at Lackland.

Throughout the past 10 years, Jecky has had a total of eight different handlers and has deployed more than any military working dog ever assigned to Barksdale. He has also conducted more than 15 Secret Service missions around the world in protection of the president, vice president, first lady and several important dignitaries.

"Many of these dogs give the ultimate sacrifice for this country," said Dr. Olson. "I consider it an honor and privilege to provide the highest quality medical care to our country's military working dogs."

"If it wasn't for the quick thinking and reactions of Sergeants Chojnacki and Eversley along with Dr. Olson, Jecky would not be alive today and as cheerful as ever," said Tech. Sgt. Jessie Mendez, 2nd SFS NCOIC of MWD section.

Jecky is now recovering from surgery and will be retiring soon.