Cooling system protects K-9 cops

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By ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANNAPOLIS (AP) | The biggest threat to the safety of the Annapolis Police Department's five dogs is their being trapped inside an overheated squad car.

"More police dogs are lost each year to overheating in a car than if they're shot or killed in some other incident," says Cpl. Chris Tucker, a 13-year department veteran who works with a German shepherd named Ares trained to detect drugs and track criminals. "You only hear about it when a dog dies, but a police dog in a police car alone - that's probably the biggest threat to them."

No law enforcement agency tracks the annual deaths of police dogs from heatstroke, but some agencies say about a dozen die each year as a result of heatstroke.

To ensure the dogs' safety, Annapolis police recently bought heat-alarm systems for squad cars that automatically cool down vehicles and notify officers, said Hal Dalton, a police spokesman. Each alarm costs about $1,200.

When the inside temperature of the car exceeds a set level, the system lowers the rear windows, turns on an interior fan and sets off an audible alarm. The system also alerts a police officer on a pager to return to the vehicle at once.

"Many times, officers' duties require them to be away from the car, and dogs are better equipped for the cold rather than heat," Mr. Dalton said.

The alarm systems are also used by Anne Arundel County police, but other departments, such as Baltimore, have yet to take that step.

Annapolis police had three systems donated about a year ago by resident Stan Katchef. But the recent addition of two drug-detection dogs prompted the department to purchase two more systems, Mr. Dalton said. Now all five dogs have a system in their squad cars.

Ares is nearing the end of his career. Cpl. Tucker said that the average retirement age is 8 for police dogs and that Ares has had "a couple close calls," but never any serious injuries on the job.

Ares goes everywhere with Cpl. Tucker.

"It's the nature of the business where the dog is with us all the time," he said. "Police work is very strenuous on the dog. They're in and out of the police car in harsh weather conditions, and the constant training usually ages a police dog a little quicker than your normal dog."