Arizona’s Maricopa Police Department has a policy that states officers should check on their K9s at least once every 30 minutes.

Had his handler done that, Ike might still be alive.

A tragic mistake

Details released from a 136-page report by the Department of Public Safety said that on June 26, 2020, Officer Craig Curry left his K9 Ike inside of his patrol vehicle to attend a meeting at police headquarters at 3 pm. He was running late and construction near the building meant he had to park his truck right in front, in full sun.

Sadly enough, the meeting was to discuss Ike’s retirement and his replacement.

Before Curry rushed into the building, he tried to take precautions – he left the vehicle running so the air conditioning would stay on.

But we all know what happens when you leave a car on for too long. And, sadly, we know what happens inside on hot days.

Curry’s meeting didn’t end until 4:40 pm that day. And when he went to check on Ike, he found that the truck had turned off and Ike was suffering in his kennel in the back seat, panting heavily, his eyes glossy.

The high temperature that day was around 108 degrees – meaning it was significantly hotter inside the vehicle.

Trying to undo the harm

No doubt he regretted his decision immediately as he tried to restart the truck, to no avail.

Curry went and got help from other officers who tried to cool down the 9-year-old German Shepherd as they called an ambulance to transport him to the vet.

Records obtained by PinalCentral contained the response of the attending veterinarian.

“(We) informed him we do not know if he will make it or not,” they wrote. “We can and did get his temperature down. Now it depends on how ‘cooked’ his insides got. Especially the intestines are sensitive.”

Sadly, the damage was done. The following morning, Ike had to be euthanized after he experienced complications from heatstroke.

The failure of failsafes

Aside from the policy to check on dogs every 30 minutes, the department also employs a heat alarm system for their K9s in the form of a pager. But officers have long complained about the system since it’s one more piece of equipment and they’ve suggested it be upgraded so that messages go to their phones.

Curry left his K9 heat alarm pager in the truck with Ike because he was trying out a new body camera that took up extra space on his vest.

In the past, officers have insisted the pager system is faulty anyway. Curry’s wouldn’t have done much good anyway since it was broken and he seems not to have noticed.

Taking appropriate action

Following an internal investigation, the department found that Officer Curry “had the ability to park in a shaded spot, had the ability to bring his K9 inside the building, or had the ability to repeatedly check on K9 Ike throughout his meeting,” according to ABC15 News.

The heat detection system had been approved for an upgrade as well, but no one ever followed through.

The news also reported that the investigation shows several code of conduct violations in Curry’s record, though no charges were ever filed.

There were no charges this time either. His punishment was 20 hours of unpaid leave.

According to PinalCentral, this kind of tragedy isn’t uncommon:

“In 2015, an investigation by the Green Bay Press Gazette showed that police dogs die of heatstroke more than any other cause in the line of duty, with the exception of medical issues. Deadlier than gunshots or stabbings, police dog hot car deaths made up 32% of traumatic deaths while on duty from 2011 to 2015.”

RIP, Ike.

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Source: ABC15 News, Pinal Central