The death of two German Shepherds inside a police vehicle was reportedly caused by a ‘technical issue’ with specialty built air conditioner pods.
The bodies of police dog Xtra and development dog Soldier were found in the NSW Police vehicle at about 12.30pm on Thursday after they attended a command development day at a Lucas Heights facility with their handler.
It’s understood before their deaths, the two dogs were ‘exercised’ and went through a routine check at 12.30pm before their bodies were discovered. The dogs were taken to the specialist veterinary clinic but were unable to be revived.
While the cause of death is yet to be confirmed, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb told ABC Radio Sydney it was likely due to a ‘technical issue’ with specialty built air conditioner pods that had been in operation ‘for a few months’.
‘What we do know is that we suspect a technical issue and no human error,’ she said, adding the investigation will ‘see if that’s the issue and why in fact that happened because that’s not meant to happen at all’,’ she said on Friday.
Ms Webb called the discovery a ‘very sad day’ for the dog unit and described Xtra and Soldier as ‘two valuable members of our organisation’.
‘The thoughts of the whole police family are with them,’ she said. ‘We owe it to PD Xtra and DD Soldier to conduct a thorough investigation.’
PD Xtra, a German Shepherd, was accredited as a general-purpose dog in July 2018 and attached to the Newcastle and Central Coast dog unit.
The death of two German Shepherd police dogs is believed to have been caused by a ‘technical issue’ with specialty built air conditioner pods inside a car (Xtra is pictured)
The bodies of police dog Xtra and development dog Soldier (pictured) were found in a NSW Police vehicle at about 12.30pm on Thursday
DD Soldier, also a German Shepherd, began service with the dog unit in February 2024 for training and development.
Assistant Commissioner Stephen Hegarty said the loss of the dogs would be felt deeply by the police.
‘Our focus is on the welfare of all staff involved with ongoing support services made available to them,’ he said.
