A police K-9 has died after being left in a patrol car for several hours, according to authorities in Georgia.
The Cherokee County Marshal’s Office and the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office were called out to the home of Cherokee County School police Lt. Daniel Peabody Friday after getting a call that the police dog had died.
According to investigators, the officer said he arrived home around 4:15 p.m. and left the K-9 inside the car with the engine turned off while he went inside his home to help his wife deal with another dog.
The 4-year-old Belgain Malinois named Inka was trapped in the back of the patrol car until around 7 p.m. when the officer realized that he had forgotten to retrieve the animal after he dealt with the other situation. Unfortunately, it was too late and the officer had discovered that the dog had passed away.
Temperatures outside had reached the 90's that day and inside the car, it was much warmer.
The squad car that Peabody used that day was not one of the department's K-9 vehicles, according to the Marshal's Office. Peabody let another officer use his K-9 squad care and the vehicle he was using didn't have any alarms or a kennel.
"Peabody was very distraught, very despondent over it, naturally, even to the point where he was transported to the hospital last night," Cherokee County Marshal's Office Chief Ron Hunton said.
A Marshal's Office spokesman says criminal charges are possible in this case, but explained the department's investigation is not complete.