BELLEVUE, WI (WTAQ) – Just a day after the Brown County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the unexpected death of a K-9 patrol dog, the agency is going on the defense.
That’s because they’ve received numerous calls and complaints about the death of Wix on Wednesday.
“I’ve had phone messages from Colorado, North Carolina and other parts of the nation on this,” Brown County Sheriff’s Capt. Dan Sandberg said by phone Friday. “I think we’re getting lumped in with some people who have been negligent with their animals and this is, by far, not the case.”
Authorities say Wix, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, and his partner, Deputy Austin Lemberger, were on special assignment in Sheboygan County at the PGA Championship. Wix and Lemberger were contacted to help with security at the event in Haven because they specialize in detecting explosives.
Authorities say Wix was placed in the squad car with the engine running and the air conditioning on. Officials say Lemberger checked the dog throughout the morning.
But around 12:30 p.m., Lemberger found Wix unresponsive in the car. He discovered the air conditioning had stopped working.
“I think there’s a lot of assumptions being made that this dog was left in a car with the air conditioning not running, and that’s not true,” said Sandberg.
Sandberg says many assume that highly-trained dogs and family pets are the same, but they’re not.
“These animals aren’t like the family pet where we’re driving to the grocery store or something,” Sandberg says. “We’re working in an environment that dictates that sometimes a dog has to be left inside the car, so the officer can take a report or do some other kind of police work. If he gets that dog out of the car, that is now his primary concern and he can’t do other kinds of police functions.”
Authorities say the K-9 units operate within an area, and not just handling specific areas of law enforcement which they are specifically trained for. Because of that, deputies are involved with police calls which do not involve their dogs.
The squad car’s air conditioning system failed, along with an alarm system that was supposed to warn the officer that the dog could be in danger.
“So we’re basically looking at two failures here, we’re trying to find out why stuff didn’t activate,” Sandberg explained during a press conference on Thursday.
The K-9 heat alarm warns the deputy there is a problem by turning on the squad car’s red and blue lights, honking the horn and rolling down the windows.
And although authorities warn you should never leave your pet in a car alone, Bay East Animal Hospital’s Dr. Margaret Eastman said its normal for K-9 officers to stay in squads with the engine running.
“That’s an important thing to remember, that utilizing the vehicle as a place to rest is a necessity for them,” said Eastman.
Meantime, PETA is weighing in on the issue by reminding people about tips for safeguarding animals during hot weather.
