Indiana judge clears K-9 business owner after 9 dogs died in hot truck in 2023
The owner of a K-9 training company has been found not guilty by an Indiana judge after nine dogs died inside a hot box truck in the summer of 2023.
The nine German Shepherds died of heat stroke while being transported by box truck from O'Hare International Airport to a Michigan training facility, when the air conditioning failed as the driver got caught in a two-hour traffic delay.
When the driver heard the dogs barking, he stopped the truck at the Road Ranger in Lake Station, opened the cargo area and began pulling the dogs from their crates after seeing them in distress. Lake Station fire and police were also called to the scene. Nine of the 19 dogs in the truck perished.
More than a year later, Indiana State Police announced charges against the driver and the owner of the company. Prosecutors said the truck did not have proper ventilation or temperature controls.
Friday a Lake County, Indiana judge cleared Michael McHenry, who owns FM K-9, of all charges linked to the case.
The trial of the truck's driver is set for March 2026.