Multiple police dogs died while on their way to a K-9 training facility in Indiana on Thursday, according to reports.
According to the Lake Station Police Department, the dogs were being driven from the Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Michigan City, when the truck was stuck in a two-hour traffic jam.
The air conditioner then failed along the journey, causing the temperature in the truck’s cargo section to rise. The National Weather Service said that temperatures in the Chicago area hit 92 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday.
“During the transport, the driver of the vehicle was caught in a 2-hour traffic delay, the AC unit that was being used to keep the canines cool failed. Upon failure, the temperature rose inside and some of the canines, due to the extreme heat from [today’s] high temperature, began rising inside the cargo area,” police said in a Facebook post.
“Since the cargo area was separated, the driver wasn’t aware at the time that the AC unit failed which caused some of the canines to go into heat related medical distress. The driver’s attention as to what was going on inside the cargo area was alerted to him by some of the canines barking,” the post continued.
The driver then stopped at a gas station in Lake Station, roughly 60 miles southeast of the airport, after noticing the dogs in distress. He began pulling the dogs from their crates, prompting 911 calls to both the Lake Station Fire Department and the Lake Station Police Department.
“There was an overwhelming response from both agencies so much so that civilians and so many others stopped to help where they could,” police added.
They said the scene was chaotic and “took an emotional toll on all that were involved in trying to save as many canines as possible,” adding that “any loss of life is tragic and thoughts and prayers are with all those that were [affected] by this ‘freak event.’”
The department has since spoken to the person involved and believes that it was an honest mistake by the driver.
“The Lake Station Police Department believes after speaking with the person (s) involved that this was not an act of animal cruelty or neglect but a mechanical failure of the AC unit that was being used in the cargo area,” police said.
