Six weeks after the death of a police dog in a hot car in Savannah, Missouri, another Missouri K-9 was declared dead Wednesday after authorities say the air conditioner quit working in his handler’s patrol car.

The police department in Arnold, Missouri announced the death of Vader, a 4-year-old police dog, Thursday. According to social media posts from the department, Vader’s handler left the dog in his patrol vehicle while on a call Wednesday.

“When Vader’s police handler returned to the vehicle, it was discovered that the air-conditioning system malfunctioned,” the Arnold Police Department wrote in a statement shared Thursday.

Vader was sent to a local veterinary clinic, where he was diagnosed with heat exhaustion and kept overnight. After briefly showing signs of improvement, the dog was sent to a 24-hour animal care clinic, where he died, the department wrote.

The department said leaving dogs in patrol vehicles as “a necessary and common practice when the K-9 partner is not actively engaged in police work.”

Arnold police cars are supposed to be equipped with a warning system that alerts K-9 handlers’ phones and lowers the windows when temperatures inside patrol cars reach a certain heat, according to the department. The warning system is also supposed to sound the car horn and activate cooling fans.

Officers said the warning system malfunctioned along with the air conditioning.

The Arnold Police Department has launched an investigation into Vader’s death. Meanwhile, Arnold residents have taken to social media to share condolences and outrage.

Earlier this summer, Horus, a 5-year-old German Shepherd, died on an overnight patrol shift in Savannah. The Savannah police K-9 was locked in his partner’s hot car overnight in what has since been ruled an accident.

According to Kansas City nonprofit K9s of Valor, 23 K-9 dogs died while on duty in 2023. Four dogs died of heatstroke, while two died of unspecified “duty-related illness.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri is banning the sale of drinks, candy and other foods made with hemp-derived intoxicating substances, Republican Gov. Mike Parson announced in an an executive order issued Thursday.

The ban kicks in Sept. 1.

Parson cited health concerns and lack of research on Delta-8 THC and similar unregulated CBD substances.

He also made clear that his order does not prohibit consumption of psychoactive hemp products. The rules “are not here to punish consumers,” Parson said.

“Our goal is to safeguard the health and safety of Missourians, especially the most vulnerable: our children,” he told reporters gathered in his Jefferson City Capitol building office.

CBD and similar compounds have boomed in popularity since the 2018 farm bill legalized hemp production, and are found in lotions, tinctures, candies, vapes and more.

Candies and drinks with hemp-derived intoxicants are sometimes used as alternatives to marijuana or alcohol. Recreational marijuana use is legal for adults ages 21 and older in Missouri.

While there is a lack of government regulation for the CBD-derived products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did approve one drug that contains CBD in 2018 to help treat two rare seizure disorders.

Delta-8 THC is of particular concern, because of adverse side effects and because of how it is chemically manufactured.

Other states also ban or regulate delta-8 THC, though it is sold in many states due to a loophole in federal law.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Paula Nickelson said there have been reports of adults and children being hospitalized after consuming the substances, which sometimes are packaged similarly to existing candies marketed for children.

She advised adults to throw away products with those substances.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced Thursday an executive order that calls on a crack down of the sale of unregulated products that contain psychoactive cannabis compounds.

Parson issued an executive order prohibiting the sale of foods that contain the compounds in the state or less it’s originated from an approved source.

“Today, we are announcing new actions to combat the spread of unregulated psychoactive cannabis products that put the health of Missourians at risk,” Parson said in a news release. “This Executive Order effectively bans the sale of these potentially harmful products in Missouri until such time approved sources can be regulated by the FDA or State of Missouri through legislative action. Protecting Missourians, especially the most vulnerable, our children, has been our guiding principle since the very beginning and remains so today.”

The order also covers the products from being sold at retail businesses who hold a liquor license.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services will work to enforce the order, according to the news release.

Parson said there’s been an increase in availability in the products, which are marketed to appeal to younger people.

The products often resemble popular products and candies.

To enforce the order, businesses caught selling the products will be subject to having their liquor license disciplined by the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.

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