California police K9 found dead after he was left alone in officer's hot patrol car in Long Beach
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA: A police K9 officer has reportedly died of heat-related issues it suffered in the official vehicle. The police K9 known as Ozzy and the officer, who is not going to be named, were off-duty when the dog was found dead in the department-issued car.
According to the LA Times, the officer reported the death of the dog last week and an investigation is currently in process. The 6-year-old Ozzy is a cross between a Belgian Malinois and a German shepherd. It was reported that roughly around 3.40 pm on August 14, Ozzy was found dead in the vehicle.
In a statement, Long Beach police public information officer Arantxa Chavarria said, "A veterinarian examination of Ozzy and preliminary results determined the cause of death to be heat-related."
"Our K9 vehicles are outfitted with fail-safe equipment that is meant to generate an alert. At this time, we believe this alert may not have been working." Chavarria stated that the kit included a heat-controller system that sends a signal via a cellphone app when the vehicle gets too warm.
Chavarria also shared that there is another mechanism that has a "manual button that only shuts down the system when activated by the handler." She refused to reveal if it was normal to have a K9 left in the department-issued car alone.
She also added that after Ozzy's death, all K9 handlers have been checking their vehicle's heat system controllers before their shift starts. The six-year-old Ozzy had worked as a K9 officer for around five years. During his tenure, he assisted a number of groups that include the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Chavarria added, "We ask that you respect the handler and his family. Our department is mourning Ozzy's loss as we would with any of our employees. Our K9s are an indispensable part of our department, and we will continue to view them as partners."
According to records by Accuweather, the temperature that afternoon was around 81 to 84 degrees. The Humane Society of the US says that leaving pets locked in cars in "high temperatures can cause irreparable organ damage and even death. Protecting animals from an unnecessary death is a problem we can all agree to prevent."