Investigators looking into hot car death of Iowa police dog

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Ames, IA (AP) — Officials in Iowa are investigating the death of a police dog that was left in his handler’s truck for nearly 24 hours on a day when the temperature soared to nearly 90 degrees.

The Ames Tribune reports that Bear, a police dog with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, was found dead the evening of Sept. 2 by his handler, former Boone County Sgt. Dallas Wingate.

Wingate told investigators he had put the dog in his truck around 10 p.m. Sept. 1 because the dog was barking at a deer. Wingate said he forgot about doing so until he went outside to feed his other dogs around 8 p.m. the next night.

Story County Attorney Tim Meals and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are investigating the dog’s death.