Police dog dies in vehicle
A West Mercia Police dog has died on duty after being left in a force vehicle.
Five-year-old police dog Ivy was found unresponsive while on duty on Thursday (July 5) and passed away despite receiving veterinary attention.
She had not participated in any activity that day so far and was in a purpose-designed climate controlled vehicle at the time.
A second dog also in the vehicle was found to not be in any distress or in an unwell state.
It is believed Ivy is the same dog that was the centre of a retirement row last year.
A campaign was launched last February to allow former West Mercia Police Sergeant David Evans to keep a four-year-old police dog named Ivy when he retired.
The force refused to allow Ivy to retire, stating that she potentially had “many years of service ahead of her”.
West Mercia Police has declined to comment.
However, the National K9 Memorial tweeted: “You may remember Ivy from the media campaign calling for her to be retired with her former handler. Our thoughts are with everyone who knew Ivy.”
Chief Inspector Mark Colquhon said: “As is established practice, a post mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of Ivy’s death and we are fully investigating the circumstances leading up to her death.
“Our thoughts are with Ivy’s handler and our Dogs Section team at this very sad time.”