I would add one thing, however. The kennel should have put the animal in a totally enclosed kennel; including the top to preclude him from climbing out. As tall as he was and as adept in what he did it would not be unreasonable that he might somehow get over a six foot fence which after all isn't all that tall. The dog stretched out would be taller than that. So the kennel is not exactly off the hook. They didn't use good judgment in placing him in that area.
GRAPEVINE – Darby the Grapevine police dog died because of heat stroke, according to necropsy results released by the Grapevine Police Department.
The heat stroke led to organ failure and circulatory shock, and eventually the dog’s death, according to a report by veterinarian Dr. Tracey Deiss of the Roanoke Animal Hospital. Exam reports from the Corinth Animal Hospital, where Darby was examined just before he died, stated that Darby had a body temperature of 109 degrees, Deiss said in an interview. Deiss said a dog’s normal body temperatures is between 99.5 degrees and 102.5 degrees.
Darby was left by his handler, officer Brian Hintz, at the Corinth Animal Hospital’s kennel on the morning of June 22 because Hintz was going out of town, police have said. Later that morning, Darby scaled a 6-foot chain link fence in an exercise area to escape and tried to run to Hintz’s home, police said. A hospital employee tracked the dog for about 25 minutes on a motorcycle before losing him, police said. Hintz found Darby near his home already collapsed from heat stress and took him to the Corinth hospital, where he died, police said.
Hospital staffers did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
Deiss said the morning of June 22 was warm and humid, and Darby appeared determined to get back to Hintz’s home about a mile away from the hospital. The dog could have brought heat stroke on himself by running hard for five or 10 minutes after escaping, Deiss said. A hospital employee on a motorcycle following the dog may not have been a factor, she said.
Darby had been boarded at the Corinth facility many times before, and the department sees no problem that the dog was boarded there when Hintz was out of town, said Sgt. Bob Murphy, a police spokesman. Darby was valued at $20,000 to $30,000. -
–Bill Teeter