It’s crucial now more than ever to keep an eye out for dogs left in hot automobiles because summer is still going strong and temperatures are rising to record levels in many places.
Dogs who are left in hot cars will not survive for long due to their severe susceptibility to heat stroke. Accidents can still occur even if you believe you have done all the necessary safety measures to avert catastrophe.
That was the unfortunate situation that occurred recently when a police department K9 was left in a hot car without air conditioning and without emergency procedures in place, leading to his death.
Vader, a 4-year-old K9 with the Arnold Police agency in Missouri, passed away on July 31 from heat exhaustion, according to a press release from the agency.
Vader was left in a running patrol car with the air conditioner running, according to the department, which referred to this as a “necessary and common practice” for K9s who are not actively participating in police operations.
Officers found that the air conditioning system had broken down when they got back inside the car.
The police added that although all of their K9 patrol cars have a failsafe mechanism that sounds the horn, pulls down the windows, warns the handler, and triggers the alarms and sirens if the vehicle reaches a particular temperature, this emergency backup “failed to activate.”
After being taken to the veterinary facility in a hurry, Vader appeared to be improving, but he eventually passed away.
The Arnold Police Department posted, “Unfortunately, we learned last night that there were no further treatments available for Vader and he succumbed to his injuries.”
“Investigating this tragedy to determine what went wrong,” the department wrote in a letter. They also requested that people remember Vader’s handler and his family in their prayers and expressed their sorrow over his passing.
Understandably, the public has been devastated by the news and has experienced strong emotions; many have wondered if more might have been done to avert this disaster.
On Facebook, someone said, “Take the dog with you, just like a child. Common practice needs to change.”
For that reason alone, another person remarked, “These dogs should never be left in a car for an extended period of time, running or not.” “I know it was an accident, but nobody else should have to go through this.”
Others recommended enhancing or testing the emergency heat alarm system of the cars more frequently because it did not sound.
Vader is sadly not the only police dog to pass away after being left in a hot car; sadly, this happens frequently due to either officer negligence or—in this case—a malfunctioning air conditioner and backup system.
Horus, a second Missouri police dog, also passed away after being left in a hot car overnight, a few days before Vader did.
It is terrible that police dogs could suffer and even perish from a hot car since they put their lives in danger for their communities. Although emergency warnings and air conditioning are features of patrol cars, it is obvious that these devices are not infallible.
We hope that Vader’s untimely passing and the deaths of all the other K9 victims will spur more measures to safeguard their lives. 
WOMAN SWERVES TO MISS TRASH BAG IN ROAD, LOOKS CLOSER AND GETS THE CHILLS
Likely, you’ve been there before. You make a decision to deviate slightly from your usual course of action at the last minute.
You switch up your coffee routine or leave the office a little sooner. The smallest shift in your daily routine can have a profound effect.
You unexpectedly run into a long-lost acquaintance, or you get home from work early and discover that your spouse has been cheating on you.
Sometimes the shifts are minor, and other times they’re monumental.
Something like what occurred to Malissa Sergent Lewis when she took a different route to work one day last summer.
Malissa Sergent Lewis was running late for work at her elementary school in Kentucky one morning in the summer of 2016.
Malissa wanted to get there faster, so she took a back road instead than the main highway.
Malissa will always be grateful for your choice.
That day, the road was empty, except for one thing: a trash bag.
But this was no ordinary garbage bag; it seemed to be alive.
“I saw this trash bag in the road, and I thought to myself, ‘Did I just see that bag move?’ The closer I got, I realized it was moving,” Malissa told The Dodo.
Malissa felt she had to open the sack and see what was living inside.
Since she had no idea what was in the bag, she stepped out of the car and approached it gingerly.
Malissa understood that whatever was inside the bag didn’t get there on its own because the bag was tied.
Malissa carefully ripped apart the bag’s corner to have a look inside.
What was inside was even more surprising.
“It was a puppy. And he sure was glad to see me. As soon as I opened it up, and he saw light, he just started wagging his tail. I couldn’t believe it,” Malissa told The Dodo.
The dog was found in the middle of the road, having been put in a trash bag. Even if the small kid was only in there for a second, it would have been too long.
The puppy had a collar on, but no identification tags.
Since Malissa couldn’t bear to abandon the puppy, she drove him with her to class.
The puppy was eventually taken back to Malissa’s house by her son. After that, he and Malissa took the puppy to the vet to get checked out and immunized.
It’s unclear how the dog came to be in a bag on the side of the road.
Malissa called animal control after becoming concerned that the puppy would be abandoned or stolen.
The dog, however, was not reported as lost, and no one came forward to claim him.
Fortunately, Malissa and her family have adopted the puppy, so he will receive the care and attention he deserves. However, she is at a loss to fathom who would carry out such a heinous act.
“Who could do something like that to any animal? I don’t care who you are; everybody loves puppies. It’s a real coldhearted person to put an animal, any animal, in a garbage bag and dump it on the side of the road,” Malissa’s told The Dodo.
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