#cop dogs

The Houston Police Department is mourning one of its four-legged officers after he was left inside a cruiser that stopped running, ABC 13 reported.

Aron, a 4-year-old K-9, died from heat exhaustion on Monday.

In a statement, the department said that Aron’s handler left him in “a running, air-conditioned patrol vehicle, which is a necessary and common practice when the K-9 partner is not actively engaged in police work.”

“When Aron’s police handler returned to the vehicle, it was discovered that the engine had shut off and Aron was in distress. He was transported to an emergency veterinarian clinic but ultimately succumbed to the heat,” the statement continued.

A system that notifies K-9 handlers in the event the vehicle shuts down, such as honking the horn, activating air conditioning, and rolling down windows, did not happen in Aron’s case because he was placed in a regular HPD cruiser.