ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – An Alachua County sheriff's K-9 died after being left in the back seat of his handler's patrol car on Friday, according to authorities.
The sheriff's office said Robbie, a 6 1/2-year-old Belgian Malinois who was used as the department's primary K-9, was found unresponsive in the vehicle. It appears that Robbie died as a result of complications related to heat exhaustion, deputies said.
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According to a release, Robbie and his handler, Deputy Tommy Wilcox, were assisting the Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office Friday morning with a barricaded suspect wanted in a homicide investigation in Leesburg.
Investigating the circumstances surrounding the death, and the Office of Professional Standards will determine if there were any policy or procedure violations.
Robbie served with the Alachua County Sheriff's Office Patrol Support Division since 2010 and was named after Congressional Medal of Honor recipient US Army Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller, of Oviedo. Staff Sergeant Miller was killed in action on January 25, 2008, in Bari Kowt, Afghanistan.