# New system senses police dogs left in cars



## Ryan Cole (Mar 5, 2009)

*New system senses police dogs left in cars*
by *Meghan Moravcik Walbert* - Apr. 6, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic 

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/04/06/20090406dogalert0406.html

One Valley police dog is less likely to be forgotten in a hot car, thanks to a new heat-warning system that detects his presence.
The new system was installed in Officer Aaron Brewer's patrol car about a month ago to keep the Peoria Police Department's new police dog, Havoc, safe in high desert temperatures. 
A mat on the vehicle's floor detects whether a dog is present. If a dog is in the vehicle when a handler removes the keys from the ignition, the system will keep the engine running. If the vehicle's air-conditioning fails while the handler is away and the temperature rises above 90 degrees, a siren will go off.<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1')</SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://gannett.gcion.com/addyn/3.0/5111.1/133600/0/0/ADTECH;alias=az-arizonarepublic.azcentral.com/news/local/articles_ArticleFlex_1;cookie=info;loc=100;target=_blank;grp=691465;misc=1239056604899" text="text/javascript"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://www.reelcentric.com/myadstream/ads/mas_ad_jobs_box51.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
Once the alarms sounds, the handler has about 3 minutes to get to the vehicle and disarm it before a message is sent to police dispatch. If the handler can't be located, the dispatcher will send officers to the vehicle's last known location.
"You don't have to turn it on or off," Peoria police spokesman Mike Tellef said. "The dog getting in turns it on, and the dog getting out turns it off."
High temperatures during much of the year in the Valley can pose a deadly risk to animals if they are left in vehicles. Peoria has never had a police dog die from overexposure, but a Chandler K-9 died in August 2007 after his handler, Sgt. Tom Lovejoy, forgot to let the dog out of the back of his patrol SUV.
Tellef believes Peoria was the first in the country to install this system, which cost about $800 to $900.
"From listening to Officer Brewer talk about the unit, it does place him a little more at ease," Tellef said. "But he insists that he still has the responsibility for the care of his K-9 partner, and this unit helps add additional safety if he gets distracted."
The system's alarm sounds very different from a regular police siren, so there won't be any confusion, Tellef said.
"This is so different and so high-pitched," he said. "You're definitely going to know the difference."Remove ad
The system is installed only in Brewer's car for now, although the department does have another K-9 handler.
"We want to make sure it's going to work the way we want it to (before installing it into more vehicles)," Tellef said.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

We have heat alarms, but not as high-tech as that one. 

DFrost


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## virginia reed (Mar 10, 2009)

officer lovejoy will feel some sadness with this news.

sadness that this wasn't invented before his dog died.

sometimes tragedy has to happen before some solid action takes place


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