“If the air conditioning or the (vehicle’s) motor stops, the lights and sirens go off,” said Middletown police Officer Marco Caito, whose canine partner of four years is Aki. “The doors can also be opened remotely.”
A specially equipped Chevrolet Tahoe SUV used by Caito includes heat sensors at the front and rear of the vehicle to protect he police canine if the vehicle’s AC goes out or the temperature reaches a certain level.
An alert monitoring system stays on even if the police car is shut off to remind the officer that the police canine is still in the car.
The back of the SUV, which is equipped with a metal kennel, also contains a no-spill water bowl for the dog.
“They’ll work as long as you let them, but can overheat easily and we have to keep an eye on them,” Caito said.
The canines are an important part of police work, Caito said.
“They are able to see and locate things we can’t,” he said. “They can smell the odor of a narcotic used in a syringe that was stuffed inside door panels.”
The police department is requesting to add a fifth canine to its unit to put more focus on its drug interdiction efforts, City Manager Doug Adkins recently told City Council.
Council heard a first reading of the $15,000 request to cover the purchase of the dog, equipment and outfitting another cruiser for the canine officer.
In Franklin, the police department’s canine cruiser is equipped with an internal temperature gauge, according to police Chief Russell Whitman.
It monitors the heat levels in the car and will automatically open windows, turn on a fan and switch on the car’s air-conditioning if it’s getting too warm.
In Trenton, Chief Arthur Scott said the department’s canine cruiser provides additional alerts to the officer when the temperature rises and the door can be popped open if necessary.
Other cities with police canines, including Hamilton, also have cruisers with the internal temperature gauges, fans and door popping systems.
The Humane Society of the United States cautions that animals should never be left in a parked car, even with the car running and the air conditioner running. On a moderately warm day, temperatures inside can rise rapidly to dangerous levels, according to the organization.
On an 85-degree day, the temperature inside a car, with the windows opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes; and up to 120 degrees after 30 minutes, according to the Humane Society. Pets can sustain irreversible organ damage or die at those temperatures, the group said.
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