Posted on 06/25/2023 2:26:42 PM PDT by nickcarraway
On Saturday, K9 handler Sergeant Jeff Hammer and his partner K9 Harrie responded to assist officers in finding suspects who fled from a stolen vehicle following a chase.
While tracking the suspects, K9 Harrie sustained a heat-related injury.
K9 Harrie was rushed to the Animal Emergency Clinic but ultimately died due to his injuries.
Chief Wayne Smith and the Shreveport Police Department would like to thank everyone at the Animal Emergency Clinic for their life-saving efforts.
K9 Harrie was a seven-year-old Belgian Malinois and had served the citizens of Shreveport since January 2018.
At one point in his career, Harrie was thought to be a “lost cause”, but Harrie was assigned to Sergeant Jeff Hammer, a long-time K9 handler and animal lover. With the help of the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Department K9 trainers, Sergeant Hammer turned Harrie into an exceptional K9 partner that began assisting in training other police K9s. Harrie became one of the most sought after K9s in the area.
:’(
Sad. What the heck is a “heat related injury”? Did someone leave him locked in a car then discovered him when they went to respond to the call? Did someone fail to provide proper hydration? Did the suspect set him on fire? Lousy reporting and probably more to this story.
In another thread it was explained. The police were in training and the dog was in the car with the AC on. The officer checked on the dog every 45 minutes. At some point the AC failed and an alarm that was supposed to sound didn’t work.
And the reporter writes the dog died while tracking the suspects.
How gallant.
Most animals have sense enough not to push into heat exhaustion, so I was thinking car, also.
Different dog.
This one was tracking a suspect.
Thanks for the correction! Poor pup.
Heat exhaustion is likely.
Not sure why his handler didn’t back off before the dog collapsed.
Mals will go on without question if their handler says so.
Handler must know and monitor his dog.
Ironically this is why Dobes fell out favor for police work.
A handler commands the dog to do something really foolhardy or crazy and a Dobe will say “you can’t be serious “.
Extremely trainable and extremely smart are not necessarily the same thing.
Yeah.
It’s heartbreaking.
Nick is really bringing me down today with the sad dog stories.
:(
Sorry
It’s okay.
I’m just really raw about sad dog stuff now.
Especially when it seems these good dogs were failed by the people they trusted.
:(
I just noticed these, because you hear LEOs supposedly take such good care of their dogs.
I used to pack 4 gallons of water on my back while chukar hunting in early October when the temperature was still in the high 70s low 80s.
What the heck is a “heat related injury”?
That’s exactly what happens. Maybe a car accident being investigated or something that took the officer from his car. It doesn’t take long for a dog in a hot car.
Good job killing your dog dumbasses
Good on ya!
People can’t imagine how fast any critter can overheat.
There’s also the little known dew point issue to consider essentially with dogs.
You are right! I always had German Shepherds growing up, but when my husband and i finally got a big enough piece of property, we switched to Belgian Malinois, because the American bred German Sheps had been pretty much ruined by the dog show bunch, breeding for looks, not working ability.
(Dog lovers tend to want both in a dog. Good structure and working instinct).
One major difference we learned was to watch the Malinois very carefully when they are working in hot weather. Unlike other breeds, their desire to please thier human/handler, and their strong drive will make them work themselves to to heat stroke and death.
The breeder of our dogs told us to watch the inside of their ears carefully, and their tongues for signs of overheating. The insides of ear would get bright pink/red, and tongues would also signal overheating… stop them from working immediately and get them cooled off quick, or lose a beloved dog!
This hurts my heart and makes me cry. I miss my Malinois so much. Hannah and Shadow… how much I love them still to this day. What a magnificent breed of dog, but only for the right situation… not for everyone as a status symbol. They need exercise, a job to do, and a person to bond with around most of the time, like a farmer with sheep to herd, which is what they were bred to do…
I am just gonna sit here and cry for this dog, and for all the people who get dogs and then fail to learn how to properly care and train them, provide them with a proper environment and give them the life they were bred to fulfill.
Dogs are not fashion accessories. I am still crying, because this death was so preventable. Shame on that handler. It takes only 1 second to check an ear, look at a tongue, and call the dog to halt.
German sheps generally won’t work till they drop dead to please an idiot handler, but a loyal Malinois will.
Mals are epic dogs and I adore them.
A guy who trains Mals for WH SS offered me a fully trained bitch because my Dobe has osteosarcoma.
It grieved me greatly to say thank you for that wonderful offer but no because after house fire and hubby’s sudden death, a Mal would be too much for me.
I know the breed and I know my current limits.
I wish others would study a breed FULLY before they get something they later send to a shelter due to THEIR failure.
I am deeply sorry for your losses.
:(
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