The Peoria, IL Police Department Is Mistreating Their K9!

Target:
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
Sponsored by: 
~EDIT~ I would like to say thank you to the few people who have recently signed the petition so that they can call me names and say that I don't know what I'm talking about. Thanks for the signatures, I'm halfway to my goal now thanks to you. I guess you didn't think that one through all the way did you? Whether you were bad mouthing me or not, you still signed the petition. As for this supposed "Hot Dog" system, I'll say again what I said to Chief Settingsgaard, prove it. Show me pictures of the system. Show me visual proof that these dogs are not being mistreated and I will take the petition down. You sure can talk a lot but I have yet to see any proof from any of you or from the Police Chief. And as a matter of fact, yes the dog was seen in the car. I would not have created a petition about it if the dog wasn't seen in the car several times. As for people who do not live in Illinois signing, yes they have every right to sign the petition because, like me, they don't care about the PPD, they care about the dogs. And I will be leaving your signatures up, I don't care if others read what you have wrote because you have not proven anything and by you signing my petition you have helped me get closer to my signature goal. ~END EDIT~

The officer in charge of the K9 at the Peoria, IL police department does not seem to have any regard to the safety and well being of his partner, the K9 officer. This poor dog is often left in the hot patrol car all day with no food or water while the officer in charge of him walks around the mall. Police are supposed to 'Protect and Serve', so why aren't they protecting their own officers? Furthermore, if they can't even protect their own K9 officer, how can we (the citizens) be sure they can protect us?

Police dogs die every year from being left in squad cars or working in sweltering heat, according to the U.S. Police Canine Association. However, no agency tracks the number of heat-related deaths.

We must bring to the attention of the Peoria, IL Police Department, that their K9 officers are very valuable members of the police force and deserve to be treated as such. If someone does not know how to care for a dog, they shouldn't be allowed to have one, police officers are not immune to this. If they don't know how to care for the K9 officer, they shouldn't be in charge of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following is 3 other incidents of officers from different police departments who put their K9 officers in similar situations. The dogs mentioned below lost their lives because the officers in charge of them either didn't know how to take care of a dog, or they just didn't care.

The K9 officer at the San Diego, CA police department was in a similar situation in June, he died of heatstroke.

Officer Paul Hubka told authorities he found his dog Forrest in the car, parked in the driveway of his Alpine home June 20. Temperatures reached 108 degrees that day.

Investigators say the dog was in the car for possibly as long as seven hours; even a half-hour could be fatal. Interior car temperatures can reach 130 degrees on such hot days.

In Chandler, Ariz., a K9 sergeant was arrested last year and charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty for leaving his dog in the back of his car for 13 hours, according to news reports. A trial is pending.

In 1999, a San Diego police dog died when it was left in the back of a hot patrol car for 90 minutes during the summer.

Officer Lawrence Cahill said his air conditioning wasn't working well that day, but it was functioning. He chose to leave the dog in the car, with the windows rolled up, rather that put him in a kennel a few feet away.

The air conditioning gave out and the dog died of heat exhaustion.

Cahill was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty, but his 2000 trial ended in a hung jury. The City Attorney's Office later decided to drop the case completely.

San Diego Animal Services Director Dawn Danielson had this to say: %u201CIt's a horrific way to die,%u201D Danielson said. %u201CHe's panting hot air, his insides heat up, he bleeds internally. He's in a state of panic, trying desperately to get out.%u201D

Information about the San Diego dogs and the Arizona dog was collected from: http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/1718226-Probe-San-Diego-K-9-died-of-heatstroke/

~EDIT~ I would like to say thank you to the few people who have recently signed the petition so that they can call me names and say that I don't know what I'm talking about. Thanks for the signatures, I'm halfway to my goal now thanks to you. I guess you didn't think that one through all the way did you? Whether you were bad mouthing me or not, you still signed the petition. As for this supposed "Hot Dog" system, I'll say again what I said to Chief Settingsgaard, prove it. Show me pictures of the system. Show me visual proof that these dogs are not being mistreated and I will take the petition down. You sure can talk a lot but I have yet to see any proof from any of you or from the Police Chief. And as a matter of fact, yes the dog was seen in the car. I would not have created a petition about it if the dog wasn't seen in the car several times. As for people who do not live in Illinois signing, yes they have every right to sign the petition because, like me, they don't care about the PPD, they care about the dogs. And I will be leaving your signatures up, I don't care if others read what you have wrote because you have not proven anything and by you signing my petition you have helped me get closer to my signature goal. ~END EDIT~

The officer in charge of the K9 at the Peoria, IL police department does not seem to have any regard to the safety and well being of his partner, the K9 officer. This poor dog is often left in the hot patrol car all day with no food or water while the officer in charge of him walks around the mall. Police are supposed to 'Protect and Serve', so why aren't they protecting their own officers? Furthermore, if they can't even protect their own K9 officer, how can we (the citizens) be sure they can protect us?

Police dogs die every year from being left in squad cars or working in sweltering heat, according to the U.S. Police Canine Association. However, no agency tracks the number of heat-related deaths.

We must bring to the attention of the Peoria, IL Police Department, that their K9 officers are very valuable members of the police force and deserve to be treated as such. If someone does not know how to care for a dog, they shouldn't be allowed to have one, police officers are not immune to this. If they don't know how to care for the K9 officer, they shouldn't be in charge of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following is 3 other incidents of officers from different police departments who put their K9 officers in similar situations. The dogs mentioned below lost their lives because the officers in charge of them either didn't know how to take care of a dog, or they just didn't care.

The K9 officer at the San Diego, CA police department was in a similar situation in June, he died of heatstroke.

Officer Paul Hubka told authorities he found his dog Forrest in the car, parked in the driveway of his Alpine home June 20. Temperatures reached 108 degrees that day.

Investigators say the dog was in the car for possibly as long as seven hours; even a half-hour could be fatal. Interior car temperatures can reach 130 degrees on such hot days.

In Chandler, Ariz., a K9 sergeant was arrested last year and charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty for leaving his dog in the back of his car for 13 hours, according to news reports. A trial is pending.

In 1999, a San Diego police dog died when it was left in the back of a hot patrol car for 90 minutes during the summer.

Officer Lawrence Cahill said his air conditioning wasn't working well that day, but it was functioning. He chose to leave the dog in the car, with the windows rolled up, rather that put him in a kennel a few feet away.

The air conditioning gave out and the dog died of heat exhaustion.

Cahill was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty, but his 2000 trial ended in a hung jury. The City Attorney's Office later decided to drop the case completely.

San Diego Animal Services Director Dawn Danielson had this to say: %u201CIt's a horrific way to die,%u201D Danielson said. %u201CHe's panting hot air, his insides heat up, he bleeds internally. He's in a state of panic, trying desperately to get out.%u201D

Information about the San Diego dogs and the Arizona dog was collected from: http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/1718226-Probe-San-Diego-K-9-died-of-heatstroke/

We the undersigned feel that the officer in charge of the K9 at the Peoria, IL police department does not seem to have any regard to the safety and well being of his partner, the K9 officer. This poor dog is often left in the hot patrol car all day with no food or water while the officer in charge of him walks around the mall. Police are supposed to 'Protect and Serve', so why aren't they protecting their own officers? Furthermore, if they can't even protect their own K9 officer, how can we (the citizens) be sure they can protect us?

Police dogs die every year from being left in squad cars or working in sweltering heat, according to the U.S. Police Canine Association. However, no agency tracks the number of heat-related deaths.

We must bring to the attention of the Peoria, IL Police Department, that their K9 officers are very valuable members of the police force and deserve to be treated as such. If someone does not know how to care for a dog, they shouldn't be allowed to have one, police officers are not immune to this. If they don't know how to care for the K9 officer, they shouldn't be in charge of it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that something is done about it.
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I have recently been shown proof that the Peoria Police Department K9 units have special devices installed in the cars that control the temperature of the vehicle as well as turning on air conditioning, fans, rolling down windows, and sounding alarms if the temperature reaches a certain point. After seeing this proof, I have closed this petition and would like to offer my apologies to Chief Settingsgaard and the Peoria Police Department as well as to all of the people who took the time to sign this petition.

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We signed the "The Peoria, IL Police Department Is Mistreating Their K9!" petition!
# 502:
7:04 am PST, Nov 23, Peggy Heath, California
This is just not right!!! The police are entrusted with their K-9's, which means taking care of them. Especially since their dog will give his/her life for the officer. Maybe the department needs to re-evaluate their officers on who is responsible enough to handle a K-9. Obviously NOT all officers are. This cruelty needs to STOP!!!
# 501:
8:36 am PST, Nov 16, Sarah Wilson, Indiana
HOW CAN THESE MORONS B IN CHARGE OF ANYTHING????? YOU DO NOT LEAVE A DOG IN THE CAR FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME~PERIOD!!!!!!!!!! THESE STUPID BASTARDS NEED TO HAVE THE DOGS TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM IF THEY ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR THEM
# 500:
11:28 pm PST, Nov 14, Name not displayed, Minnesota
# 499:
7:07 am PST, Nov 14, Name not displayed, Illinois
Trista, do you know that this dog was in the car all the time? 90% of the time the dog is not in the vehicle when the officer is working the mall. Common sense would tell anyone that if it Summer and the windows are rolled up and the car is not running, the dog is not in the car. Have you approached the vehicle to see if the dog is in there? I bet you haven't. The dog will bark if anyone gets close to the vehicle, so if there was no barking, the dog was not in there. Just because the officer drives his k-9 vehicle to a job, does not mean the dog is with him. The dog always has water in the back of the vehicle. If you think about it, this is a working dog, so it makes sense that this dog has to be in top condition in order to perform. This officer takes his dog to the vet for his yearly shots, if the officer goes out of town the dog is boarded at a vets office. This officer takes care of his dog, just like any responsible dog owner. This dog has never been abused or neglected at the hands of this officer. I think that Trista Sanders needs to do a little more research into this officer and the situation. She needed to make sure that this dog is in the vehicle. I really don't think it is right to start a petition like this without all the facts. I do know this officer and dog personally, and I can tell you that this dog is treated very well and is happy and healthy.
# 498:
3:50 pm PST, Nov 13, Jasmin Rosales, Australia
# 497:
11:22 am PST, Nov 13, Victoria Johnson, Illinois
Do you know for a fact that this dog has no water or food in the back? I can tell you that this dog is very well taken care of. He does in fact have water in the back to drink. The dog is fed before he goes to work. This officer does not leave him in a hot car, the air is running. This dog is very well taken care of. People who do not know this officer or the dog need to shut their mouths. People from other states have no business in Peoria's business. All of you jumping to conclusions just because some demented nut case has no idea what their talking about. I guess I should get a petition going saying that she/he is a child abuser and we need their kids taken away. She obviously has no information about this officer and obviously does not know him very well, if she did she would shut the hell up. If that dog had been in a HOT car, the dog would be dead by now, but the dog is alive and well. How about if we put the person who started this stupid petition in front of that dog and have him attack, I bet she would be changing her tune as nothing is wrong with this dog. All of the K-9 officers treat their dogs better then most of you treat your children. All of you people and especially the one who started this crap should all be ashamed of yourselves for jumping to conclusions about this officer and the dog. Apparently all of you fat ***** out there have nothing better to do with your life than judge other people. I think it is time for others to start judging you. Next time, have all the correct information about a situation before posting you stupid comments. And girl who posted this, get all the facts before you expose the rest of the world to you stupidity!!
# 496:
9:49 am PST, Nov 11, Name not displayed, Illinois
How sad? but not in the way you may think. How sad that all the people on this petition would jump to conclusions and ask for such things as the torture of or incarceration of this officer without knowing the whole truth and based on some accusations of an unknown person on the internet! This dog didn't die, is not abused and is fine and well today. First off the dog has water at all times. Second the car was running with the air conditioning on. Third the car is euipped with a temperature monitoring system which not only alerts the officer through a pager if the car gets to hot, but also rolls down the windows and turns on a fan system. We will see if they allow this to be posted or stay posted!
# 495:
9:45 pm PST, Nov 9, Diana McFall, Indiana
# 494:
4:46 pm PST, Nov 9, Lisa Lewis, North Carolina
# 493:
8:12 am PST, Nov 6, Barbara & Vincent Smolinski, Delaware
Why is this "officer" allowed to have a police dog when he has no regard for the welfare of the animal. I also have the feeling that he would be the kind that chains a dog outside 24/7. Remove the dog from his so called care???? and place the dog with someone with a conscience/feeling!
# 492:
9:30 pm PDT, Oct 31, Kim Reyes, Oregon
# 491:
11:45 am PDT, Oct 29, Donna Murray, North Carolina
Educate, and then lock that idiot in the hot car all day without water.
# 490:
9:36 am PDT, Oct 29, Nancy Campbell, Missouri
Has insanity set in? EVERYONE knows that leaving a dog in a hot car on a hot day will kill the dog within minutes. YET A "SPECIALIST" LIKE A POLICE OFFICER DOESN'T KNOW THIS ABOUT HIS FELLOW OFFICER? Give me a b-r-e-a-k. Remove this man IMMEDIATELY and prohibit him from ever working with animals again. Carelessness and lack of care are NOT acceptable and can NOT be tolerated. This dog's life is literally at stake.
# 489:
10:47 am PDT, Oct 28, Timea Melinda Kovacs, Romania
# 488:
5:31 pm PDT, Oct 26, Mary Ann Page, Tennessee
I am shocked that this valuable K9 officer was neglected during the summer. I hope that steps have already been taken to avoid any further neglect.
# 487:
10:43 am PDT, Oct 24, Julia Tawyea, Pennsylvania
# 486:
4:54 am PDT, Oct 22, Ralph Xx, Germany
# 485:
7:32 pm PDT, Oct 20, Angelica Staniszewska, Illinois
If you don't have any respect for animals, don't offer to have a K9 officer! It's common sense that leaving a pet in a care will kill it in hot weather! This is pathetic, take responsibility, you killed a living thing!
# 484:
3:28 am PDT, Oct 19, Mieke Bernaards, Belgium
# 483:
7:33 pm PDT, Oct 18, Joan Mazeika, Illinois
# 482:
11:41 am PDT, Oct 18, Patrick D. Richmond, Missouri
Such a stupid rule for mall operations to force police officers to keep their dogs in their patrol cars. If the mall has a parking garage, the malls should at least let them park in the parking garage so the dog is protected from the sun.
# 481:
3:58 pm PDT, Oct 17, Eureka Morrison, South Africa
# 480:
6:25 pm PDT, Oct 16, Rhonda Gangsta Chihuahua, South Carolina
# 479:
1:14 am PDT, Oct 16, Debra McIntyre, Minnesota
# 478:
11:35 am PDT, Oct 12, Susan Marden, Maine
# 477:
9:20 pm PDT, Sep 30, Katrina Hart, Texas
# 476:
12:15 pm PDT, Sep 30, Patricia Brown, South Africa
# 475:
6:25 am PDT, Sep 28, Joanne Armstrong, United Kingdom
# 474:
6:20 am PDT, Sep 24, Dori Butterick, Georgia
it sad their suppose to protect and serve and yet they abuse animals one that is helping them
# 473:
11:16 am PDT, Sep 21, Mervi Rantala, Finland
# 472:
3:53 am PDT, Sep 21, Filomena Pereira, United Kingdom
# 471:
1:31 am PDT, Sep 19, Giovanna Di Mella, Italy
# 470:
5:05 am PDT, Sep 17, Simos Tarabatzis, Greece
# 469:
4:06 am PDT, Sep 14, Forever Barbick, Illinois
# 468:
5:29 pm PDT, Sep 13, Margie Stafford, Florida
# 467:
2:26 am PDT, Sep 13, Mario Giannone, Italy
# 466:
2:25 am PDT, Sep 13, Mulas Enzo, Italy
# 465:
2:24 am PDT, Sep 13, Angelo Spano, Italy
# 464:
9:24 pm PDT, Sep 11, Marc Marroyen, Belgium
# 463:
9:24 pm PDT, Sep 11, Iryna Marroyen, Belgium
# 462:
11:15 am PDT, Sep 10, Mirna Markovic, Croatia
# 461:
1:00 pm PDT, Sep 8, Tom Maxwell, California
# 460:
5:46 am PDT, Sep 6, Judit Luna i Ester, Spain
# 459:
7:39 pm PDT, Sep 4, Campbell Welsh, Kentucky
I work for a local Animal Care and Contol agency. If YOUR officer was caught in our county, we would cite him for cruelty just as fast as anyone else.
# 458:
9:08 am PDT, Sep 3, Nancy Pierce, Colorado
# 457:
11:51 pm PDT, Sep 2, Eileen Anderson, Ohio
# 456:
6:50 am PDT, Aug 31, Eva Lightfoot, Maryland
# 455:
2:49 pm PDT, Aug 30, Ruth Bescript, Arizona
Why are so many K-9s being mistreated or killed? This matter must be taken WAY more seriously then it is. But then there's that "thin blue line" of protecting your own, at the expensive of others - including dogs.
# 454:
12:45 am PDT, Aug 29, Diane Thompson, Illinois
Help protect the police dogs!!
# 453:
12:43 pm PDT, Aug 28, MDHJohnHollyMKS Quinn, Georgia
# 452:
7:39 am PDT, Aug 26, Susie Horn, Illinois
And these are our law officers who are supposed to serve and protect? How can they protect others if they don't even protect their K9 Partners?
# 451:
3:09 pm PDT, Aug 25, Name not displayed, New Jersey
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