Mississippi police dog dies after vehicle quits on hot day

VICKSBURG, Miss. – A Mississippi police dog has died after it was left in a patrol vehicle and the engine quit on a hot day.

The Vicksburg Post reports the 8-year-old German shepherd named Thor was in the vehicle outside the Vicksburg Police Department on Tuesday afternoon.

Police Chief Milton Moore says it’s normal procedure for a K-9 officer to be kept in a vehicle with the engine and air conditioning running for hours. Moore says he does not know why the vehicle quit while Thor was inside it. Tuesday’s high temperature was 95 degrees (35 Celsius).

Thor had lived with Officer Donnie Heggins’ family. After Heggins found him in distress, Thor was rushed to a veterinarian but died there.

Moore says Thor “might have been an animal, but he was an officer.”

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Information from: The Vicksburg Post, http://www.vicksburgpost.com