Police dog dies in patrol car; A/C failed

A police dog tragically died in a patrol car, even though his partner had left the air conditioner on.

The car's air conditioning compressor failed, and Sam Diesel, the 2-year-old German shepherd, had been in the vehicle for over an hour.

Officer Sara Movahedi was working inside the police station when the dog died. It is standard procedure to leave police dogs in vehicles with the motor and air conditioning running. The state police K-9 units here do it all the time.

Here is the complete story from the Lakeville Ledger in Florida.

This should be a lesson to those of you who continue to shlep your dogs with you in the cars when they would be much safer at home.

Unairconditioned cars can heat up dramatically. Use your common sense.

UPDATE: From the Tampa Tribune: The police department will revamp their procedures for leaving police dogs in vehicles. Turns out, the officer/handler left the dog in the car for more than three hours. I can understand leaving the dog in the car when you are on patrol, but while you are at the police station? Is it a matter of convenience, the ability to move quickly, or a matter of not having a crate at the station house?