Animal Control Officer Helps Save Human

Despite his official title, Animal Control Officer Tony Wade is no stranger to helping out humans. But recently, one incident had zero animal involvement.

Wade was working on a dog bite call at Mission Bay on a Sunday morning when he was flagged down.

“When I went over to see what was going on, a man advised me that he believed his friend had died. I contacted dispatch and requested medical assistance,” Wade said.

Lt. Mitchell Levy, who was listening to dispatch up at Animal Services’ Carlsbad animal care facility, heard the whole thing.

“I could hear Wade on the radio very calmly advising our dispatcher of the situation and asking her to send paramedics to his location,” he said.

With the help of a bystander, Wade then pulled the distressed man out of the vehicle and laid him flat on his back. Guided by an emergency dispatcher, Wade began conducting chest compressions, and a nearby doctor came over to assist. Once paramedics arrived, it took them about five minutes to get a pulse and they transferred the man to a medical facility.

“From what I could hear on the radio, Wade remained calm, professional and instinctively did what needed to be done to save this person’s life,” said Levy.

Wade, who’s been with the department for a year, said he learned CPR in the County’s Animal Control Academy – a skill he put to use for the first time in this situation. The officer said he often assists with sick or injured patrons on a regular basis, but never in this type of capacity.

“I just wanted to help. I would suggest that people learn CPR, because you never know when a situation might need that particular skill,” he said.

You can learn CPR, get a refresher course or get recertified with classes in our LMS. Just visit the system and search for “CPR.”