Madison County, Tennessee – A young police K9 with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office died after being left in an outdoor kennel, in the heat, for 36 hours. According to reports, K9 Bart did not have access to water and died from heatstroke on September 19.
In a social media video, Madison County Sheriff Julian Wiser addressed the preventable death of the two-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd, noting that the dog’s handler had been put on administrative leave after Bart’s death and later resigned.
According to Sheriff Wiser, the K9 handler had not been home for 36 hours while Bart was left in his outdoor kennel; the heat index reached 101 degrees during that time. A necropsy determined that Bart died from heatstroke due to “severe dehydration.”
An internal investigation and a criminal investigation have been ordered. The investigation is ongoing.
Rest easy K9 Bart.
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