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Died 7/10/15
K-9 dies in handler’s hot car
“The Savannah State University (SSU) family is saddened by the loss of K9 officer Baston, a German Shepherd, at the age of seven. A Savannah State K-9 officer is dead after being accidentally left in his handler’s hot car for several hours. Baston joined the SSU Police Dept. back in 2010 and has helped a number of surrounding agencies during his time of service. Sadly, this is not the first time something like this has happened. Just last week, a K-9 officer in Conyers, GA died in the back of his handler’s car. Baston passed away at his handler’s home in Rincon after being left in the car for several hours. According to the police report, Baston’s handler In statements to Rincon Police, the SSU officer and his wife said he came into the house with his hands full of food for them and their two children, a 2-year-old and a 3-week-old. The officer fell asleep because their two young children had been keeping them up day and night and he was exhausted. The officer said he intended to get his gym bag and Sgt. Baston out of the vehicle after bringing in the food. After getting inside the house, he sat down and ate and fell asleep for about four hours shortly after eating. His wife said they noticed Sgt. Baston wasn’t on its normal spot inside the house, and they searched the house before realizing the dog was still in the vehicle. He rushed outside and found Baston dead in the back of the car with the windows rolled up and the engine off. “These are heartbreaking, sickening, accidents,” said Jeff Schettler, CEO of Georgia K-9 National Training Center. “Accidents can happen anytime to anybody. I do not think there is any malicious intent that this officer or any officer in the past has had when their dog dies.” Baston was rushed inside and placed in a cool bath, but it was too late; he was dead. According to the report, the K-9 was in the back of the hot car between three and four hours. Detectives said the outside temperature was between 95 and 97 degrees from 2-6 p.m. “What we have to do is mandate that there is training for every handler on health and welfare,” said Schettler. Schettler was a handler and has been training K-9’s for about 20 years. According to him, there are no laws in Georgia that prevent officers from keeping their dogs in the car. In fact, he said a law like that would hinder dogs from being effective. They need to be able to be on scene in minutes. “If there are going to be laws, it should be more about safety equipment for heat injuries for the dogs, not necessarily that dogs cannot be kept in their cars,” said Schettler. There is equipment on the market that can help in these situations. For example, hot car alarms, heat door locks, and others. “If the heat in the car rose too high, we could get a signal from a pager and an alarm center would go off.” However, Schettler said that many times there is not money in departments for this type of equipment, and that needs to change. Baston was a male german shepherd who was seven years old and had served with the Savannah State University Police Department for five years. He contributed significantly to the safety of all on the SSU campus for the past five years. Baston’s skills were also employed to assist surrounding law enforcement agencies and departments.” Rincon Police investigated the death, but it has since been turned over to the Effingham County Solicitor General. Baston’s handler is no longer employed at the University. No word on charges at this point.
