Sewickley Takes Safety Precautions to Protect K-9 Officer

A police K-9 dog in New Castle died of heat stroke earlier this month after being left in a police cruiser for nearly four hours, according to news reports.

The loss in Lawrence County hit close to home for Sewickley Patrolman Frank , who handles his department’s K-9 officer and uses a specially equipped police cruiser to transport the animal.

“If it’s 100 degrees, I won’t leave him in there,” Lesniak said.

New Castle Police Officer James Hoyland did leave Chico, the K-9, inside the cruiser on June 4, which was a hot spring day. Hoyland also left the vehicle’s air conditioner running while he went to work on a side job, according to WKBN, a Youngstown, Ohio, news station.

New reports said the air conditioning quit cooling the car and the 6-year-old Dutch shepherd, left for three hours and 45 minutes, was found unresponsive. The officer has been placed on unpaid leave.

New Castle Police Chief Thomas Sansone told reporters that in the absence of a handler it was forbidden to keep the dog in the car for that length of time.

Lesniak echoed the same sentiment about Tripp, Sewickley’s K-9.

“The dog is never out of my sight for long periods,” he said.

Tripp rides in the back of the cruiser, where the air conditioning is concentrated on the rear enclosure to keep the dog cooled off.

Lesniak said the cruiser is specially equipped with heat sensors, so when temperatures rise, the cruiser's windows automatically roll down and its horn beeps to alert the handler.

A lot of time and money goes into having a K-9 officer. It can cost as much as $10,000 just to train the dog.  

Sewickley’s three years ago raised the funds to purchase the department’s black Labrador and to cover training costs. Funds from the K-9 committee also paid for the K-9-friendly police car.

But having a canine-sensitive car isn’t enough to keep a dog safe for long periods of time in the heat.

“In training they always beat in our heads to always leave the windows down or cracked,” Lesniak said.