The department wrote that they were “investigating this tragedy to determine what went wrong.” They also said they were mourning the loss of Vader, and asked people to keep his handler and his family in their thoughts and prayers.

The news has understandably been met with heartbreak and intense emotions from the public, many of whom questioned whether more could’ve been done to prevent this tragedy.

“Common practice needs to change, take the dog with you, just like a child,” one person replied to the post on Facebook.

“These dogs should never be left in a car for an extended period of time, car running or not just for that reason,” another wrote. “I understand it was accidental but this should not happen to anyone else.”

Others suggested improvements or more frequent tests of the cars’ emergency heat alarm system, given that it failed to activate.

Sadly, Vader is not the only police dog to die from being left in a hot car: the situation is unfortunately frequent, either as a result of officer neglect or, in this case, a faulty air conditioner and backup system.

Just days before Vader died, another Missouri police dog, named Horus, also died after being left in a hot car overnight.

Police dogs risk their lives for their communities, and it’s heartbreaking that they might suffer and die from a hot car. While patrol cars have air conditioning and emergency alerts, it’s clear that those systems can easily fail.

We hope that the tragic death of Vader and all other K9 victims inspires more action to be taken to protect their lives ?❤️?