Beloved Police Dog ‘K9 Vader’ Dies From Heat Exhaustion

A police dog, in the city of Arnold, Missouri, named Vader, passes away after being left unattended in a hot patrol car on Wednesday, July 31.

The Arnold MO Police Department shared the news on Thursday, Aug 01. “On July 31, 2024, we lost a member of our K-9 family in a tragic accident,” they wrote in a Facebook post.

The Police Department shared that the four-year-old K9 Vader passed away from heat exhaustion.

“The K-9 handler left Vader in a running, air-conditioned patrol vehicle, which is necessary and common practice when the K-9 partner is not actively engaged in police work,” the Police Department explained.

“When Vader’s police handler returned to the vehicle, it was discovered that the air conditioning system malfunctioned.”

The Police Department shared that Vader was immediately transported to a local vet clinic where he showed signs of improvement.

He was then transported to a 24-hour clinic for further treatment. Unfortunately, after a sudden turn of events, the police dog “succumbed to his injuries”.

Following the passing of K9 Vader, the Arnold MO Police Department reveals that all their K9 vehicles are equipped with a system that is especially made to keep their police dogs in patrol cars comfortable.

They explained, “All Arnold Police Department K-9 vehicles are equipped with a system that notifies the handler by phone, activates the emergency lights and siren, sounds the vehicle horn, activates cooling fans, and rolls down the vehicle windows, if the vehicle temperature increases to a certain level.”

However, the heat alarm system failed to activate this time, resulting to K9 Vader’s death.

Currently, the Police Department is investigating the situation to determine what went wrong in their system.

Online users were left wondering and are suspicious of the real cause of the police dog’s death. One user left a comment saying, “I hope the department is truthfully forthcoming when the investigation is complete. If these K9’s are truly partners in the law enforcement community, they should receive better care especially during periods of intense heat.”

Other users pointed out the fact that the situation was completely unavoidable and that common practices need to change, regardless if a dog is a civilian’s or a police officer’s.

“What a shame an officer lost his life over something that could have COMPLETELY been avoided. If civilians get reprimanded for leaving their dog in the car on a hot day, police should be as well. Can’t justify this tragedy because of the system failing,” a user explains.

While another user said, “Common practice needs to change, take the dog with you, just like a child.”

K9 Vader is the second police dog to have pass away due to heat exhaustion in Missouri this year. Back in June, a police dog in a small western Missouri town, K9 Horus, also died in a hot car following an overnight shift.