K9 Officer Dies of Heat Stroke...

This cop should have known better and should face the FULLEST fury of the law

taff Report
CELINA —
A Mercer County K-9 unit died Wednesday after his handler left him in a patrol car.
Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey said Deputy Chad Fortkamp left his K-9 unit, Zak, in his patrol car while he completed the reconstruction of a traffic crash at the office around 1:00 p.m.
“When at the office, the car is either left running with air conditioning on or Zak comes into the building,” said Grey. “The car was not running and it appears that Zak was overcome by the heat.”
After an autopsy, Zak, who suffered from a pre-existing heart condition, is believed to have died after being aggravated by the temperature of the car. The K-9 Unit’s Veterinarian stated that even a perfectly healthy dog may have not survived the heat.
A thorough investigation into why the dog was in the car and why the car did not have the air conditioning running will be completed, said Grey.
The results of the investigation will be released upon its completion when a decision for disciplinary action against Fortkamp will be determined.
“I am deeply disappointed and apologize to the members of the Moose Lodge, the Eagles of Celina and others who helped fund the K-9 program,” said Grey.
In 2010 the Moose Lodge donated $5,000 to the program in addition to the $1,500 from the Eagles of Celina for the purchase of Zak.
The Sheriff’s Office plans to suspend the K-9 program until further notice after losing two dogs within the last three years.

 

Poor Zak. You would have to be pretty careless to leave dogs or children in cars especially when it's hot. I have very briefly and not on extremely hot days. If ever I take my dog out I leave all the windows down a bit and have water available. I would not leave her for more than a few minutes. It's better to leave dogs at home on hot days where they can get adequate shelter from the heat.

 

I don't take my girls with me anywhere where I cannot take them in with me, if it is over 80 degrees out. Even when you go in the grocery store to get just a gallon of milk you don't know how long the lines are, whether the cashier is having a bad day and being slow, or if you have to wait for an employee to go fill the milk section.

 

I think there's a very simple problem there. The officer is simply not fit to handle a dog.

This is not a question of training. Training will only teach you what to do. Training does not make you do what needs to be done. So to handle a dog, you must start with an innate love for dogs. That's something which cannot be taught. Either you love dogs or you don't.