Officer On Desk Duty After K-9 Left In Hot Car Dies

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania corrections officer has been put on desk duty after a drug-detecting dog in his care was left in a hot vehicle after a training exercise and died.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman tells Pennlive.com the department's investigative unit is looking into the death of 2-year-old yellow Labrador named Totti.

The officer left Totti in the vehicle for 2 ½ hours on July 7 at the state prison at Rockview, near Bellefonte.

Other dogs that were under the officer's care have been reassigned to different handlers.

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Worden says that the investigative unit has the power to file criminal charges, if necessary.

The handler had stored items in the vehicle at the end of the exercise and didn't realize the dog was locked in the car. Staff tried to cool Totti with water and ice but he died at a veterinary clinic.

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