K9 officer dies of heat exhaustion in deputy's truck

CACHE COUNTY, Utah -- (KXAN) -- A Cache County Sheriff's Office K9 officer is dead after officials say he was left in a hot patrol vehicle.

It happened on July 3. The sheriff's office says the dog's handler was immediately placed on administrative leave without pay.

Officials say policy and procedures were not followed resulting in the tragic death of K9 Endy.

Sheriff Chad Jensen says all K9 patrol vehicles are equipped with safety features for the canine while the handler is on duty and the vehicle is left running.

“Through our investigation surrounding the circumstances of Endy's death, we are actively pursuing new technology wherein all K9 units will be equipped with end of shift warning systems,” a press release said.

Handlers will now be forced to manually shut down the security system. As a result the system will give verbal warning to remove the dog from the vehicle. If the officer forgets to manually shut down, horns and lights will be activated.