In Montville Township last September, a police K9 dog died after being left in a hot cruiser for four hours. Altogether, about 30 police dogs across the U.S. have died since 2012鈥�.not in the line of duty, but trapped in squad vehicles during hot weather. As ideastream鈥檚 Brian Bull reports, one local K9 unit is stepping up efforts to keep its four-legged partners safe.
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鈥淭his is one of the sensors right here, on each side鈥hich basically takes the average temperature one each side of the vehicle鈥︹��
Twinsburg K9 Police Officer Yamil Encarnacion explains the Hot鈥橬-Pop system recently installed in his vehicle. His partner, a German Shepherd named Yasso, sits attentively in the back seat.
鈥淭he system has a pre-set temperature. So if it meets that temperature setting it automatically alarms by sounding the horn and also dropping both windows in the back鈥�.鈥�
The price tag for Twinsburg鈥檚 system? About $1100鈥n top of the cost for Yasso.
鈥淭he average cost for a canine, especially for him, was about $12,000-13,000. That鈥檚 for the dog, the training, and equipment. It鈥檚 a small amount to pay to keep him safe. Yasso is my partner, I mean he鈥檚 like family.鈥�
Twinsburg鈥檚 PD has not suffered the loss of a K9 animal to heat-related causes.
Altogether, there are about 20.000 police dogs serving in K9 units, according to the North American Police Work Dog Association.