DPS: K-9 left in hot patrol car euthanized, officer on leave

TUCSON, AZ - An Arizona Department of Public Safety K-9 was euthanized Thursday after being left inside a hot patrol car for an hour.

DPS spokesman Carrick Cook said Jeg, a 7-year-old Belgian Malinois, "took a turn for the worse" Thursday morning and was put down after DPS officials consulted a veterinarian.

According to Cook, Jeg was found in Officer Korey Lankow's vehicle Wednesday afternoon with a high temperature and a faint pulse. The pair had been working together for three years.

Sources close to the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told ABC15 the dog had a temperature that exceeded 105 degrees.

Cook told ABC15 Lankow was in a loaner DPS patrol car and was in the process of moving his gear to his assigned unit when an emergency call came in regarding a car crash. The officer then responded to the crash, leaving his K-9 partner behind.

Roughly 60 minutes later, DPS officials said the officer realized he forgot the dog and raced back to the other patrol vehicle where Jeg was found with a faint pulse.

Jeg was sedated Wednesday night at an emergency veterinary clinic in Tucson until his condition worsened Thursday.

Cook said Lankow remains on administrative leave as Tucson police investigate the incident.

Lankow has worked with DPS since 2005 following a 22-year career with the United States Air Force.