Massachusetts K-9 teams to take part in air medical transport training

BOSTON (WLNE) — A training exercise will be held Thursday to prepare first responder K-9 teams to save the lives of police dogs.

The air ambulance transports are a recent addition for police training after the passing of Nero’s Law last year.

Nero’s Law allows first responders to provide emergency first aid to police K-9s hurt in the line of duty, including transport to a medical facility.

The training scenarios will take place at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

There will be a flight takeoff  to the state police headquarters in Framingham. No dogs will be on board during the training exercise.

April marked five years since Yarmouth Police Sgt. Sean Gannon and his K-9 partner, Nero, were shot by a suspect while he and other officers were serving an arrest warrant at a Barnstable home.

Nero survived, and the law in his name providing protections to K-9s was passed last September.