Central California Police Dog Dies In Overheated Patrol Car

PORTERVILLE, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities say a police canine in Central California died in an overheated patrol car when a malfunction caused the air conditioner to shut off.

KFSN-TV in Fresno reported Thursday that the dog named Idol was part of the Porterville Police Department. Porterville is small community between Bakersfield and Fresno.

Police say the Idol's handler put the dog in the patrol car to cool down after a training session; the air conditioning was running.

They say the handler returned more than an hour later to find that the car had shut down along with the cooling system; the dog had died.

Police say a warning system also failed to alert the dog's handler that the car's temperature had become unsafe.

The Tulare County Sheriff's Office is investigating.