Police dog dies in hot patrol car in Arnold, Missouri

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.