Police dog, Wix, dies at PGA Championship when air conditioner fails

Wix, a K-9 unit dog for Brown County Sheriff's Department, is seen in this undated photo. (Brown County Sheriff's Department/Facebook)

Sunday, August 16, 2015 09:20PM

 

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- 

 

Wisconsin authorities say a police dog assigned to the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits died after the air conditioner failed in his partner's squad car.

The K-9 named Wix was a 3-year-old male Belgian Malinois trained in explosives detection and tracking. Wix and his handler, Brown County Deputy Austin Lemberger, were assisting with security at the tournament Wednesday, and the dog was left in the squad car with the engine and air conditioner running.

The sheriff's office says Lemberger checked on Wix regularly Wednesday morning. But he found the dog unresponsive around 12:30 p.m. The air conditioner had failed and the car's K-9 heat alarm did not activate.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that Wix was the fifth police dog to die in a hot car across the country this summer.