Houston Police K-9 Dies Of Heat Exhaustion After Being Alone Inside Of Patrol Vehicle

On Monday, a Houston Police Department K-9 died as a result of heat exhaustion.

4-year-old K-9 Officer Aron had worked with the department for one and a half years. His death came after the police unit he was in was functioning improperly.

A statement from the department noted that Aron was put into a “running, air-conditioned patrol vehicle, which is necessary and common practice when the K-9 partner is not actively engaged in police work.”

Authorities say that Aron’s handler wasn’t next to the vehicle, and when he came back to it, he found that his patrol car had turned off, and Aron was in distress.

The K-9 was transported to an emergency veterinarian hospital where he died from heat-related injuries.

Usually an HPD K-9 unit will alert a handler in certain ways when the vehicle cuts off. However, this time it did not, police say, and they are now attempting to find out why.