DADE COUNTY, Ga. — A now-former deputy is off the job after his K9 died in a hot car over the weekend.
The Dade County Sheriff’s Office says K9 Georgia was left inside the kennel in her handler’s patrol car for an "unacceptable amount of time."
Investigators say that while the deputy was inside the sheriff’s office, the air conditioner compressor in the patrol car malfunctioned. The patrol car’s heat alarm was also not working.
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They say the heat index in Trenton on Sunday was between 100 and 102 degrees.
“Our hearts are aching at the loss of K9 Georgia. Many of you know that she was donated to us by a local family, at no cost to the sheriff’s office. She was an amazing bloodhound who was sweet, goofy, and had all the potential to be the ‘best of the best,'" Sheriff Ray Cross wrote in a statement.
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Cross says that the sheriff’s office will change its policy to take K9 vehicles out of service if they are not in full working order. He added that K9s will no longer be left in cars for extended periods of time.
The handler has not been identified. The sheriff said the Dade County District Attorney’s Office will decide if they want to prosecute.
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