Police Dog Dies After He Was Left In Hot Patrol Car In California

Aug 27, 2019 by apost team

K-9s or police dogs are often in the line of duty and there can be a risk to their lives in shoot-outs or other dangerous situations. For Ozzy, it turned out the most dangerous situation he experienced was the back of a patrol car, where he passed away after being left there in high temperatures.

Ozzy was a police dog for more than five years in Long Beach, California where his job was to identify illegal substances that could lead to drug busts. The half Belgium Malinois, half German Shepard was made famous last year when a local organization made a stuffed toy in his likeness to sell for fundraising efforts, reports the Signal Tribune.

apost.com

The Long Beach PD issued a statement obtained by Apost that said Ozzy was found deceased in the hot patrol car at a time when he and his handler were off-duty. A veterinarian examination concluded that the cause of death was heat-related.

They stated that the LBPD has a fail/safe system that is supposed to send out an alert when the car gets too hot. However, it appeared that the equipment might not have been working. They have already put a policy in place that K-9 units check their cars every time they go out, and want to ensure this never happens again.

The department is not naming Ozzy’s handler and requests privacy:

“We ask that you respect the handler and his family,” said the statement. “Our department is mourning Ozzy’s loss as we would with any of our employees, our K-9’s are an indispensable part of our department, and we will continue to view them as our partners.

Temperatures on the day were around 83° Fahrenheit according to Accuweather, but in a car, it can be exponentially warmer. The Humane Society notes that even when it’s a cool 72° outside, it can heat up to 116° in a car in an hour and that rolling down the windows has little effect. It is not safe to leave a pet in a car and it can cause irreparable organ damage, or in Ozzy’s case, death. We can all work to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Rest in peace to dear Ozzy. Please let others know about this incident so that everyone can be informed about the high risks of leaving pets in cars.