In Defense of Animals has seen multiple reports of K-9 officers being left in vehicles to die slow and agonizing deaths. We will continue to report on these incidents until the law enforcement officers responsible for these deaths are brought to justice on felony animal cruelty charges. Additionally, communities that have lost these valuable (not in terms of dollars) officers should guarantee the care of these animals with strict policies and inspections.

Daniel Peabody told investigators he arrived home around 4:15 p.m. on June 10 and left Inka, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, in the back of the car with the engine turned off while he dealt with another dog inside his home.

Cherokee County Marshal’s Office Chief Ron Hunton stated that, “Around 7 p.m., the officer remembered he left Inka in the car and found that she had died. Temperatures that day reached the 90s, and it got much warmer inside the car.”

Later in June, former Cherokee County School Police Officer Daniel Peabody was charged with the death of Inka, his K-9 partner.  Allegedly Peabody left Inka alone inside the squad car he used the day of her death, causing her to die a gruesome death of hyperthermia.

The Marshal’s Office determined that Peabody did not use the department’s canine vehicle the day of Inka’s death, but used another vehicle, having let another officer used the K-9 vehicle equipped with an alarm and kennel. The other K-9 vehicle was out-of-service that day.

During the investigation into Inka’s death, authorities discovered evidence that Peabody allegedly shot and killed a retired K-9 officer in 2012. Peabody had reported that his former retired K-9 officer, Dale, a yellow Labrador, had died from choking on a toy. However, investigators said Dale was shot and killed by Peabody at his Paulding County home shortly after Dale retired from service.

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