Phoenix K9 officer's dog dead after 12 hours in car

LeeH · 08-13-2007, 06:40 PM

This will be interesting. If the average citizen did this they'd be charged with animal cruelty. What do you think will happen to the cop? According to the department spokesperson, "...no disciplinary action has been taken and will not happen unless an investigation determines the actions were reckless or intentional."

http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/0813cr-deaddog.html

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

That dog's training probably cost the taxpayers thousands too.

1fastredsc · 08-13-2007, 07:59 PM

It's sad that this guy obviously didn't hold very much value to his dogs life. It's like if you leave a friend in your car for a minute you don't just forget about them, and yet this animal was forgotten as if his life isn't important. Shameless and disgusting at the very least........

Joeaksa · 08-13-2007, 08:57 PM

Sad to see and why are not Police officers held to the very same laws that they force us to obey?

Would love to hear what K-9, our PP dog handler has to say about this.

TerryH · TerryH's Garage

If I was inventive or had any imagination, there has to be a simple alarm of some kind to help prevent not only pets from this horrible death, but children strapped in car seats too. It happens too often the the child or pet is sleeping and through distractions or change in routine, whatever is in the back seat is forgotten about. Too often you read about the dad that never before has had to take his kid to daycare and he instead drives straight to work like the other 280 days a year and the kid dies in the car while in the workplace parking lot.

As mad as I get at the forgetful person, I can also sympathize to large degree. Most of these forgetful people aren't imprisoned when a child dies in a hot car. Surprisingly or perhaps not, mothers are most likely to be jailed than dads and childcare personnel.

slodave · slodave's Garage

I sadly committed insecticide today. I went to the pet store to get 2 dozen crickets for my chameleon and on my way home, I stopped by my parents to drop off some recyclables. I ended up staying there for about an hour and forgot about the crickets until I left. They were ready to be served with a little chocolate. Even though they would have been eaten, I felt bad for a couple of minutes.

Hey, I think PETA is knocking at my door!

Dave

Dan in Pasadena · Dan in Pasadena's Garage

This is negligent, cruel and all together sad. Not to mention wasteful and actionable. The cop should be disciplined.

Cops are always telling us how K-9's are "officers" and they get a heroes recognition if they're killed in the line of duty...let's see if THEY believe that or if its all B.S?...what do you get if you're directly responsible for a fellow officer's death?

slodave · slodave's Garage

I should also add, that I was saddened about what happened. I don't think it is right that the cop was let off so easily (neither does my bird, he is sitting on my laptop as I type).

Dave

cool_chick · 08-13-2007, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerryH

If I was inventive or had any imagination, there has to be a simple alarm of some kind to help prevent not only pets from this horrible death, but children strapped in car seats too. It happens too often the the child or pet is sleeping and through distractions or change in routine, whatever is in the back seat is forgotten about. Too often you read about the dad that never before has had to take his kid to daycare and he instead drives straight to work like the other 280 days a year and the kid dies in the car while in the workplace parking lot.

As mad as I get at the forgetful person, I can also sympathize to large degree. Most of these forgetful people aren't imprisoned when a child dies in a hot car. Surprisingly or perhaps not, mothers are most likely to be jailed than dads and childcare personnel.

Ok, I could POSSIBLY see forgetting for a minute, MAYBE, but don't you think after 5 minutes or so, you'd notice that your child/pet isn't around?

dd74 · 08-13-2007, 11:12 PM

I guess the cop didn't like his partner very much.

He's no better than Michael Vick, IMO.

Joeaksa · 08-14-2007, 01:16 AM

We tend to cut the LE a bit of slack but come-on, the guy knew that the pup was in the back of the car when he returned home. The article then states that he returned home and then found out some difficult news (kid was in a accident I believe) then forgot the dog.

Excuse me? You do not leave the dog, his partner, in the car at home for any reason. A citizen would have been crucified for doing this to their pet, so what's the difference? They go on to say that he feels badly about it... well I bet that the normal citizen also feels badly but they get to go to jail over something like this. Now he gets a weeks vacation?

Dutchie · 05:21 AM

He should clean up dog pounds for the next two years. Cop or no cop he killed a dog. I,m not sure how things are over in the states but here in Holland dogs are like children to us. These kind of things really piss me off

onewhippedpuppy · 08-14-2007, 04:37 AM

According to the article, he was also the head of the K9 unit, and the dog was a valued member of his household. I'd hate to see what he does to those he doesn't like.

I can't count how many PSAs I've heard about leaving kids and animals in the hot car, and now this guy just gets off of the hook. How can they not see the hypocracy in that?

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Or the irony in having that statement from a guy whose username references "whipped puppies"?

Sorry, had to.

rcm · 06:32 AM

With some city and state LE dogs they are considered a police official. For killing it or assualting the dog a person can be charged as if he did it to a human.

My feeling is this guys looses his job period, while being charged for killing his partner.

beepbeep · 08-14-2007, 05:06 AM

Sad news. As earlier posters said before, that dog training probably cost taxpayers a sizable piece of dough, and it probably served society well.

Here is a Swedish K9 that did a good job:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2C3Ft2GVxI

dhoward · dhoward's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Or the irony in having that statement from a guy whose username references "whipped puppies"?

Sorry, had to.

Adding a little cream of tartar will make your puppies peak higher...

MMARSH · MMARSH's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by cool_chick

Ok, I could POSSIBLY see forgetting for a minute, MAYBE, but don't you think after 5 minutes or so, you'd notice that your child/pet isn't around?

I didn't. Several years ago, I had to drop my then infant daughter off at my parents house on my way to work. I never never had to do this. Well guess what. My daughter fell asleep in the car, like babies do and I proceeded to drive the 77miles to my job and completely forgot she was in the car. Only after getting to work and having to remove something from the back seat did I realize she was there. If I had gotten to work and someone had of ran out and stated something was going on and I was needed inside immediately, I would have ran in and not thought any thing about it. Very scary when you think about it.

Unlike civilians, cops leave their dogs in the car all the time. Thats why the rear windows are caged, so they can leave the windows down. The officer was not working is regular shift and the shift he was working was one where he didn't normally use his dog. I bet the dog spent most of the shift in the car. Is it possible that when he got home the dog was asleep. He's out of his routine in the first place and then he's hit with some news that his son is in a horrible traffic accident. **** happens and it's a sad story. I have no doubt that he and is family are extremely upset about it. But it doesn't make him a criminal, it makes him human.
Flame away.

Dan in Pasadena · Dan in Pasadena's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMARSH

I didn't. Several years ago, I had to drop my then infant daughter off at my parents house on my way to work. I never never had to do this. Well guess what. My daughter fell asleep in the car, like babies do and I proceeded to drive the 77miles to my job and completely forgot she was in the car. Only after getting to work and having to remove something from the back seat did I realize she was there. If I had gotten to work and someone had of ran out and stated something was going on and I was needed inside immediately, I would have ran in and not thought any thing about it. Very scary when you think about it....

EXTREMELY lucky. I assume that incident has awakened you to your own tendency to get lost in your thoughts?; it would if it happened to me.

At least you were smarter than the mother and grandmother reported on a few years ago...I think it was here in California. After grocery shopping they placed a sleeping infant still in its carrier on the roof of the car and proceeded to load the trunk with bag after bag of groceries. Yup, you guessed it. They were blabbing up a storm, forgot the baby, drove off only to have the baby & carrier fall off the roof and the babie's shoulder was broken in the fall. I SUPPOSE thats better than if it had been run over or some other tragedy but 'ya think we ALL need to pull our collective heads out of our.....body orifices?!

I still think this cop needs to be much more severely punished for his negligence and the death of this animal.

dd74 · 08-14-2007, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMARSH

Unlike civilians, cops leave their dogs in the car all the time. Thats why the rear windows are caged, so they can leave the windows down. The officer was not working is regular shift and the shift he was working was one where he didn't normally use his dog. I bet the dog spent most of the shift in the car. Is it possible that when he got home the dog was asleep. He's out of his routine in the first place and then he's hit with some news that his son is in a horrible traffic accident. **** happens and it's a sad story. I have no doubt that he and is family are extremely upset about it. But it doesn't make him a criminal, it makes him human.
Flame away.

If what you explain is police policy, the policy needs to be changed. I'm certain leaving a dog in a car for the duration of a shift (8-12 hours) is, if not illegal, heavily looked at as cruel and unusual. Many experts in dog behavior suggest not leaving a dog alone anywhere for longer than six hours. A hot car is simply inexcusable under any circumstance.