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Verify: What's the protocol for leaving K9 officers in the back of patrol cars?

We hear about it all too often, hot car deaths are constantly in our news headlines when temperatures rise, and it's not just kids and pets.So that brings us to our question: Is there a shared protocol across the country when it comes to K9 officers left in police vehicles?

We hear about it all too often, hot car deaths are constantly in our news headlines when temperatures rise, and it's not just kids and pets.

Surprising statistics from PETA show that a large number of working K9 police dogs nationwide have suffered heat related deaths in the back of patrol cars.

So that brings us to our question: Is there a shared protocol across the country when it comes to K9 officers left in police vehicles?

Here’s what we found -- according to PETA thirteen K9 officers died in hot car deaths last year. There is no uniform policy across the country, and consequences for human handlers vary from case to case.

However -- there are a number of departments across the country who are utilizing top of the line technology to avoid heat related tragedies.

Take the Waco Police Department for example -- they’ve spared no expense when it comes to heat warning technology.

"We bought the top of the line technology, and the officers are able to monitor it on their cell phones." Said Sgt. Patrick Swanton with the Waco Police Department.

"At any point they can go ahead and check on their dogs, and see what the temperatrue of the car is. They can look at the volt meter on their vehicles and make sure the car is still running."

That's right -- in the rare case that a K9 officer is left behind for any period of time, the car is always left running with the air conditioning on, but should something go wrong, the cruiser is rigged for any possibility.

"Once it reaches a point where it's too hot, it automatically turns on the lights and the sirens, and the windows automatically go down and a fan comes on in the back where the dogs are." Said Swanton.

The same goes for the four legged officers working for the Temple Police Department. Their protocol includes a vehicle temperature alert system as well.

The policy reads in part: “When operating in the field, handlers shall utilize the vehicles climate control system to adjust the temperature to a safe level for the canine. Handlers shall also activate the vehicles temperature alert system when the canine is inside the vehicle.”

So we can Verify that even though there is no uniform policy across the country that prevents these tragedies from happening, local departments have made huge strides in protecting the K9 officers who put their lives on the line to protect our communities.

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