Metro K-9 unit mourns loss of Fred

Jace Radke

Wednesday, April 21, 1999 | 10:32 a.m.

The Metro Police K-9 unit is remembering a friend and partner this week after a Thursday afternoon accident took the life of Fred, a 4-year-old German shepherd.

"People have to understand that this is a tragic loss for our unit and for Fred's partner," Lt. Tom Smitley said. "These dogs are just like our partners."

Officer Duwayne Layton and his family, including Fred, had just moved to a new house and Fred was staying in the garage until his kennel could be built at the home.

Layton arrived home Thursday afternoon and parked his police truck in the garage. Then he saw his small son riding his tricycle toward the street, Smitley said.

"Naturally, he ran down and kept his son from riding into the street," Smitley said. "As he was walking back after saving his son, he shut the door to his truck, and then he and his son went to the grocery store in another car."

But while Layton was getting his son out of harm's way, Fred had jumped into the open truck.

Layton returned about an hour later to find the windows on his truck fogged up and Fred nearly unconscious. Layton rushed the dog to the veterinarian, but Fred couldn't be saved.

The temperature got as high as 77 degrees on Thursday, which proved to be too hot for a dog in a closed vehicle.

"The only way for a dog to cool itself off is with his lungs, and when there is no ventilation, the recycled air gets warmer and warmer," K-9 Sgt. Rory Tuggle said.

At the annual K-9 trials Fred was known as one of the dogs with the best agility.

"We once hid one of our guys 25 feet up in a warehouse, and we figured the dogs would never find him, but Fred hopped from box to box and got right up to him," Layton said at the 1997 trials.

Smitley said a supervisor will investigate the incident, and Layton will eventually be assigned a new dog, Smitley said.

"If anything positive can come of this, it's that it may reinforce to people that dogs should never be left in cars."