The other day I got a message to meet a local MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) rep at a firehouse in my sector. When I got there she gave me an awesome t-shirt to thank me for helping the firemen of that particular station collect the most donations citywide. I will wear that t-shirt with pride.
Nobody likes a DOA call and for us it's all part of the job and we have to do it. Well yesterday we got hit with 2 of them pretty much back to back.
We get a call from a friend of this man who hasn't taken to him in about a month and is worried that he might be down inside of his house so he calls us. He explains that the guy is a big time alcoholic and doesn't have any contact with his family. The log officer gets there at the same time as the fire department and as I pull up they find a back door which is unlocked and as they open the door there is a pretty good sized German Sheppard standing guard, an older dog mind you but semi-aggressive non the less. Well they make entry and manage to scare the door into a back bedroom where they shut the door. As I walk up to the rear door I hear a Lt. say "yep here he is" and then all the firemen and ambulance personell come hustling out the back door and when they pass me the not so pleasant odor of death dances across my nose. Now I just came from eating Moe's for lunch and after inhaling that unmistakeable odor I immediately felt sick, but it didn't end there......the other officer there said the dog started to eat the DOA and chewed down to his shin bone. That was enough for me........I'm outta there.
On my way back to the precinct I stopped by the 2nd DOA and this one was a pretty routine suicide where a guy was about to be evicted sot himself in the head.
I ended my shift on a sad note because 2 people died with nobody to care about them.
Make sure you tell your family and loved ones that they matter and that you care for them and that when they get down in the dumps to call someone and talk.
10-7 EOT
