Police canine overheats and dies after search for suspect

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A working canine with the Arlington Police Department in Texas, succumbed to heat exhaustion on Tuesday while searching for an aggravated assault suspect. The Arlington Police Department issued details of the tragic situation to Facebook followers on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the department, K9 Mojo, a Belgian Malinois, was assisting detectives who were tracking a fugitive who was wanted in conjunction with the shooting of another man. The incident in question took place on June 12 and detectives had secured an arrest warrant for the suspect, identified as 17-year-old Shune Deon Arnold Jr.

Detectives attempted to pull the suspect over on Tuesday morning, but he fled – eventually the suspect exited his vehicle and fled on foot. Mojo was part of a canine team which was sent to assist in the search. Around 11:15 a.m., Mojo’s handler could see that the dog was overheating and he requested water and transport to an animal hospital.

Despite the veterinary intervention, Mojo passed away. The suspect that he had been trying to track was apprehended in the late afternoon following a call to 9-1-1 from someone who spotted the man in the area.

Mojo was born in Holland and he had been working with the department since 2010 – he had been partnered for six years with canine handler Ramsour, a 23-year-veteran of the force.

Mojo has been credited with many felony apprehensions and searches for dangerous criminals.

The Arlington Police Department shared words of loss to Facebook followers:

“Today we experienced a significant loss to our APD team. Mojo was an exceptional K9 partner, friend, and served the citizens of Arlington honorably,” said Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolbye. The department appreciates the words of encouragement and prayers. This is the first K9 death during a duty assignment in Arlington.

(Photo via Arlington Police Department)


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5 COMMENTS

  1. RIP Mojo. The human kind needs to be more attuned to the heat on this planet. It is getting hotter with each new summer. What once was just HOT is now KILLER HOT. I’m sorry for your partner. I know he wanted to save you. It is End of Watch, good dog.

  2. You would think an experienced K9 handler would have seen the signs of overheating soon enough to have saved Mojo’s life. Rest in peace Mojo, condolences for your handler, family and fellow officers, I know how much you will be missed.

  3. So sad! Surely there is a way to tell if the dogs are getting overheated. I’m seeing more and more posts about police dogs dying because of heat exposure. I hope they find a way to prevent these unnecessary deaths. We humans cannot stay in hot cars or work in the heat until we drop and it’s certainly the same for an animal. :'(

  4. Michelle Bannasch A lot of blame going on here, but I can’t imagine that this officer would purposely drive this dog to fatal exhaustion. It probably ripped his heart out. Very sad…

  5. You wouldn’t let a human police officer continue in such high temperatures so why would you allow a police k9 officer to work under these conditions? And dogs don’t sweat & have a coat as well. This is very irresponsible. This k9 deserved much better!

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