Arnold police K-9 dies from heat exhaustion, left in running vehicle

ARNOLD, Mo. - A police K-9 with the Arnold Police Department died from heat exhaustion on Wednesday after he was left in a running car, according to a Facebook post from the department.

Arnold Police Department K-9 Vader died at the age of four.

According to the Facebook post, Vader was left in a "running, air-conditioned patrol vehicle" for an undisclosed amount of time while his handler attended to other matters. The police department says this is "necessary and common practice" when the K-9 partner is not actively engaged in police work.

The department says as Vader's handler returned to the vehicle, "it "it was discovered that the air conditioning system malfunctioned."

Vader was sent to a local veterinarian clinic, then to a 24-hour clinic for treatment. The department says it was later determined that "no further treatments" were available and Vader died from his condition.

Th...