Florida K9’s Hot Car Death Under Investigation

MELBOURNE, FL — As the Friday death of one of the Sebastian Police Department’s K9s remains under investigation, the case and a similar one in Tampa serve as reminders of the dangers hot cars pose to people and animals alike.

While the two cases both involve vehicles left parked outside Florida courthouses, they had two very different endings. The Tampa case involved an infant girl who had been left behind in a car as her 23-year-old mother allegedly ran into the Hillsborough County courthouse to pay a fine. Passersby spotted the infant in distress and flagged down an off-duty Plant City Police officer to help.

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The girl was rescued in time, Tampa Police reported. The temperature of her car seat at the time of the April 21 incident, Tampa Fire Rescue reported, was 123 degrees. The little girl was taken to a hospital to be checked out while her mother was charged with neglect.

K9 Diesel’s story doesn’t end on a positive note. The German shepherd’s body was reportedly found around 7:30 p.m. April 28 in a Sebastian Police Department cruiser. It remains unclear how long Diesel had been left inside the car parked outside the Brevard County Courthouse. The temperature that day reportedly soared into the high 80s in the Melbourne area.

Diesel’s death is now under investigation by the Melbourne Police Department. Few details about the case have been made available, including the name of the Sebastian police officer involved.

See also: Baby Left In 123-Degree Car Seat As Mom Paid Fine: Cops

The Sebastian Police Department took to Facebook on Tuesday to express its grief at the “tragic loss of one of our beloved K9s.” While the death investigation and any potential charges are being overseen by Melbourne Police since that is where the incident happened, Sebastian Police also intend to conduct their own administrative investigation, the agency reported.

“Our entire department is saddened by Diesel’s tragic death; please keep us in your thoughts and prayers,” the post read.

A Tragic Tale Told All Too Often

A total of 39 children died when left in hot cars last year nationwide, and five heatstroke deaths have already happened in 2017 in the United States, according to noheatstroke.org.

Common factors in the cases are stress, parents functioning on too little sleep or a change in daily routine, say experts. The public can also help. KidsAndCars.org encourages individuals to take immediate action if they see a child alone in a vehicle.

See also: Hot Car Safety: What Florida Parents Need To Know

"Call 911, and try to find the driver. But if the child is in imminent danger, it may be necessary to break the window furthest away from the child to rescue them," says Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org.

Safety advocates stress that a child’s body can overheat three to five times faster than an adult.

Animals, like Diesel, are also vulnerable.

"It is never OK to leave kids or pets in a car — even with the windows down,” Dr. Christopher McStay, an emergency room doctor and assistant professor of emergency medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, told WebMD. “It is an absolute no-no."

On a warm day, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise rapidly to dangerous levels, says the Humane Society. On an 85-degree day, the temperature inside a car with the windows opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees. Your pet may suffer irreversible organ damage or die.

Medical experts attribute hot car deaths to parents not realizing just how quickly it can get hot inside a vehicle left unattended.

“On a day that is just 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature [inside a car] can increase by 30 to 40 degrees in an hour," Dr. Christopher Haines, director of pediatric emergency medicine at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, told WebMD. "And 70% of this increase occurs the first 30 minutes."

Heat stroke typically occurs when body temperature passes 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to medical experts. Such internal heat overwhelms the brain's temperature control, causing symptoms such as dizziness, disorientation, agitation, confusion, sluggishness, seizure, loss of consciousness and/or death.

How soon the Melbourne Police Department will finish its investigation remains unclear.

Patch's Deb Belt contributed to this story.

Photo of Diesel via the Sebastian Police Department’s Facebook page