With the summer still in full swing, and many areas reaching record-high temperatures, it’s more important than ever to be vigilant about dogs left in hot cars.

Dogs are extremely susceptible to heat stroke, and won’t last long if left in high-temperature cars. Even if you think you’ve taken precautions to prevent tragedy, accidents can still happen.

That was the tragic case recently when one police department K9 died after being left in a hot car after the air conditioning and emergency precautions failed to activate.

According to a release from the Arnold Police Department in Missouri, a 4-year-old K9 with the department named Vader died of heat exhaustion on July 31.

The department said that Vader was left in a running patrol vehicle with the air conditioner running, which they described as a “necessary and common practice” for K9s that are not actively engaged with police work.

However, when officers returned to the vehicle, they discovered that the air conditioning system had malfunctioned.

The department also said that their K9 patrol cars are all equipped with a failsafe system that notifies the handler, activates the alarms and sirens, sounds the horn, and rolls down the windows if the vehicle reaches over a certain temperature, but this emergency backup “failed to activate.”

Vader was rushed to the veterinary clinic, and while he initially showed “signs of improvement,” he later passed on.

“Unfortunately, we learned last night that there were no further treatments available for Vader and he succumbed to his injuries,” the Arnold Police Department wrote.

The department wrote that they were “investigating this tragedy to determine what went wrong.” They also said they were mourning the loss of Vader, and asked people to keep his handler and his family in their thoughts and prayers.

The news has understandably been met with heartbreak and intense emotions from the public, many of whom questioned whether more could’ve been done to prevent this tragedy.

“Common practice needs to change, take the dog with you, just like a child,” one person replied to the post on Facebook.

“These dogs should never be left in a car for an extended period of time, car running or not just for that reason,” another wrote. “I understand it was accidental but this should not happen to anyone else.”

Others suggested improvements or more frequent tests of the cars’ emergency heat alarm system, given that it failed to activate.

Sadly, Vader is not the only police dog to die from being left in a hot car: the situation is unfortunately frequent, either as a result of officer neglect or, in this case, a faulty air conditioner and backup system.

Just days before Vader died, another Missouri police dog, named Horus, also died after being left in a hot car overnight.

Police dogs risk their lives for their communities, and it’s heartbreaking that they might suffer and die from a hot car. While patrol cars have air conditioning and emergency alerts, it’s clear that those systems can easily fail.

We hope that the tragic death of Vader and all other K9 victims inspires more action to be taken to protect their lives 😢❤️💙