Police Dog Dies After Being Left In A Hot Car

[Joey]

I just CAN'T believe this!!!!! No wonder the police don't give a rats a$$ about animal cruelty calls!

http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_198201621.html

KUTV) SALT LAKE CITY A police dog inside a Utah Highway Patrol car for six hours collapsed and later died when the air conditioner failed in extreme heat.

Reggie, a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois with a nose for finding drugs, was put in an ice bath and rushed to a veterinarian Sunday night but didn't survive.

"As you can imagine, there are a couple of people who are broken up," Trooper Jeff Nigbur said Tuesday. "He was a hard worker and had some good dope finds."

Reggie and his handler were on weekend patrol near Interstate 70. The dog was given food and water and placed in the patrol car outside a motel with a window open 4 inches and the air conditioner on, Lt. Chris Simmons told the Deseret Morning News.

At some point, the air conditioner failed and instead blasted warm air.

"There was antifreeze all over the parking lot. Something happened to the car, and we lost the coolant," Capt. Jeff Graviet said.

Trooper Brad Zeeman, who was asleep at the motel, was awakened when someone reported Reggie struggling in the car around 4 p.m.

The Utah Highway Patrol typically keeps dogs inside climate-controlled vehicles rather than ask if an animal can stay in a room, Graviet said.

"In years past, we've had issues with motels," he said. "We came up with a program to have the kennel in the car. It's worked for several years. We've never had a problem."

The temperature in the area was 100 degrees or higher, Graviet said.

Zeeman had not activated a system that opens all windows and sounds the horn when the inside temperature exceeds 80 degrees, Graviet said.

Reggie had hundreds of drug finds, including 100 pounds of marijuana in the gas tank of a truck in 2002. He once tracked down a man who had assaulted a police officer and fled into the hills of Tooele.



http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_4064578

Utah Highway Patrol service dog dies in hot car
The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah Highway Patrol troopers are mourning the death of a comrade this week after one of their canine officers died in a hot vehicle during a mechanical failure.
Reggie, a 9-year-old service dog who specialized in drug location and criminal apprehension, was working in the Green River area with his handler Saturday night. The pair worked through the night and readied themselves for rest around 10 a.m. at an area motel, said Lt. Chris Simmons.
The officer allowed Reggie to exercise, gave the dog food and water and locked him inside the vehicle's kennel with the air conditioning running and the windows cracked according to policy, Simmons said.
Around 4 p.m., the officer was awakened by the motel's front desk personnel, who said another patron of the inn had noticed the dog in distress inside the stalled vehicle. In spite of the officer's efforts to cool the dog's core temperature with an ice bath and a veterinarian's attempt to rehydrate the dog, Reggie died at about 9 p.m.
"This is a total blow," Simmons said. document.writeln(AAMB6); "We're not only losing a member of our department, we're losing a very valuable tool."
With the temperature reaching 114 degrees Sunday, it did not take more than about 20 minutes from the time the vehicle overheated and shut down before the dog was in trouble, Simmons said.
The UHP has 11 canine officers. Reggie's death is the first of its kind since the statewide policing agency began its program in 1997. Initial cost of a police service dog can range between $5,000 and $10,000.

[Angeleyes]

That is disgusting. I don't understand why the dog needed to be kept in the car ANYWAY!! That poor dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kandy]

Maybe this is the first time they've had a problem with their "policy" on keeping the dog in the car, but maybe they haven't had the heat we've had this year. I don't know of a vehicle made that won't overheat when its been left running with the A/C on for six hours. I'm sure there are hotels in the area that would let them bring their dogs into the rooms.

[Angeleyes]

I know! It's a police dog! Why WOULDN'T they let the dog into the motel? Also... why was the officer in the motel anyway? I don't get that.

[Joey]

I don't understand that either. . . .not that we should 'value' a police dog more than another dog - but he was a 'working dog' and should have been given the same comforts as his 'colleagues'. . . .


Imagine if he was a seeing eye dog. . . .would the motel/hotel have thought twice about it?

[Angeleyes]

I know. I put service dogs and police dogs in similar categories. It's a dog that cost a LOT of money to train... do they really think it's going to pee the floor? or something silly like that? I didn't even think motels COULD deny police dogs... and I really don't think they should be able to.

[Joey]

Actually I wonder if they CAN?

I wonder what the policies are like in the industry, who you can and cannot turn away?

[Kandy]

I think that every establishment has the right "to refuse service to anyone" - but I would seriously doubt that a hotel would refuse to allow a police dog in a room. You would think that they'd make special exceptions for police dogs and other types of service animals.

[chris]

Aww...imagine what this poor dog went through before totally succumbing to the brutal heat? His suffering must have been unimaginable. Poor guy. He should have been let into the motel since he is technically considered to be an officer of the law and carries a badge of his own. If someone were to hurt him it would be just as if they hurt a human officer and would be dealt with the same way as far as punishment goes. His human partner should have insisted that the dog be allowed to accompany him inside the motel room or seek accommodations elsewhere. RIP, sweetheart.

[MafiaPrincess]

What's horrible is that they didn't ask, if the dog could be in the room.. Since it's apparently a potential issue, they didn't ask, just left it in the car..