Emma, a 7 year old black Labrador and K9, died on Monday having been left in an airport security vehicle, equipped to transport a K9.
Her handler, Cpl. Chris Richau, had left her inside the vehicle with the air conditioning running to investigate an incident inside the terminal where she was not required.
Leaving an animal in a vehicle is standard procedure, and vehicles which transport K9 animals are usually equipped with a system called K9 Cold Guard, which monitors the interior temperature of the vehicle. Once the temperature becomes too warm, the horn sounds and the windows roll down. The dog cannot escape due to the mesh screen in place.
Unfortunately Richau’s cruiser was not equipped with such a device and although the temperature was only in the mid 70’s, when he came back to the vehicle, Emma was dead.
Richau is said to be devastated and whilst all K-9 cars owned by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and Greenville Police Department have been outfitted with the devices, those at the airport are not.
Rosylin Weston, airport spokeswoman, said she did not know why the car did not have the device and that before getting a replacement for Emma, she would check with the police chief to see if the department would install the device.
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