Officers Dog Left in Car Dies of Heat Stroke

SAN DIEGO

The San Diego police dog left in the back of his handler's patrol car last month died of heat stroke, county investigators said Tuesday, and it will be up to the District Attorney's Office to determine whether a crime was committed.

A monthlong investigation by the county's Department of Animal Services found that the 5-year-old Belgian Malinois was left in the car with the windows rolled up.

Officer Paul Hubka told authorities he found his dog Forrest in the car parked in the driveway of his Alpine home July 20. Temperatures reached 108 degrees that day.

Hubka, a 22-year veteran of the Police Department, declined to give any further statements to investigators on the advice of his attorney, Animal Services director Dawn Danielson said.

Investigators say the dog was in the car for possibly as long as seven hours, although even a half-hour could be fatal. Interior car temperatures can reach 130 degrees on such hot days.

“It's a horrific way to die,” Danielson said. “He's panting hot air, his insides heat up, he bleeds internally. He's in a state of panic, trying desperately to get out.”

The necropsy, performed by a veterinary pathologist with the county's Animal Disease and Diagnostic laboratory, found no signs of diseases or injury.

The investigation's findings have been forwarded to the District Attorney's Office, which will decide whether to charge Hubka.

The Police Department will launch an administrative investigation into the death once prosecutors are finished with the case, said department spokeswoman Monica Muñoz.

Hubka, who also serves on the board of the San Diego Police Officers Association, is working a desk job in the meantime.

Another of Hubka's police dogs, named Rexo, died last year from gastric torsion, a condition also known as bloat, Danielson said. Deep-chested dogs are susceptible to the sudden illness, associated with the stomach filling with air and twisting.

Rexo died in the care of another officer while Hubka was on vacation in June 2007.

Every year, police dogs die from being left in squad cars or working in sweltering conditions, according to the U.S. Police Canine Association. However, no agency tracks the number of heat-related deaths.

In Chandler, Ariz., a K9 sergeant was arrested last year and charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty for leaving his dog in the back of his car for 13 hours, according to news reports. A trial is pending.

In 1999, a San Diego police dog died when left in the back of a hot patrol car for 90 minutes during the summer.

Officer Lawrence Cahill said his air-conditioning wasn't working well that day but it was functioning. He chose to leave the dog in the car, with the windows rolled up, rather than put him in a kennel a few feet away.

The air-conditioning gave out, however, and the dog died of heat exhaustion.

Cahill was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty, but his 2000 trial ended in a hung jury. The City Attorney's Office later decided to drop the case completely.