Carrollton K9 Dies From Heat Exhaustion

CARROLLTON, Ga. -- The Carrollton Police Department's only K9 officer, "Rudy," died after suffering heat exhaustion in the back of a patrol unit.

Police Chief Joel Richards called it a "tragic accident" and said the entire department is saddened.

"No one did anything wrong," said Chief Richards.

Friday afternoon Rudy's handler, Officer Matt Kenerly, drove to the police department for a meeting. He parked the K9 unit, a Chevy Tahoe, leaving the engine and airconditioning running with Rudy locked in his kennel inside the vehicle.

"Officer Kenerly was inside for about an hour and a half. He left the car running with the hood propped up to keep the engine cool. That's standard protocol. When he came back out the car wasn't running. The fan was blowing and the ignition was turned but it looks like the battery died," said Richards.

Kenerly got firefighters next door to help him jump start the car to unlock the back doors. They found Rudy with a shallow pulse and tried to cool him down with wet towels and ice packs as they rushed him to a nearby animal hospital. The vet later pronounced Rudy dead.

Chief Richards says they have yet to determine why exactly the patrol car stopped running.

"It could have been a number of things -- an alternator problem or the battery. It did have gas in the tank -- a quarter to half a tank," said Richards.

K9 Officer Rudy, a Belgian Malamois, joined the department in December 2007. The Carroll County Sheriff paid for dog and the training. Rudy was considered a dual purpose dog because he could sniff out drugs and perform apprehensions. Rudy was also the police department's biggest public relations tool. In fact, Rudy's last assignment was Friday morning when Officer Kenerly took him to Carrollton Elementary School to speak to a kindergarten class.

"Adults and kids alike just loved Rudy. We could take him anywhere," said Richards.

Not long after the death of Rudy, another department contacted Richards to say they too had almost lost their K9 Officer in a patrol car. They showed him online a device that prevents that very thing.

It's called a canine heat alarm. It is a sensor that monitors the temperature in a canine unit and if it gets too hot it sets off the siren and horn and sends the officer a text page.

Chief Richards said he only wishes he would have heard about the device sooner.

"Had we known about it, we would have bought one. When you're spending $13,000 for the purchase and training of a dog we would gladly have spent another six or seven hundred dollars to have one in the vehcile," said Richards.

He now has one on order and will install it as soon as it comes in, but he can't say how soon it will be needed.

"Rudy was a member of our family. Although we can get another K9, it's going to be tough because he was a great dog. It won't be the same. I don't think we'll ever have another Rudy. He was unique," said Richards.