Missouri police officer charged in death of K-9 officer left in hot car

A Missouri police officer, Daniel Zeigler, has been charged with animal abuse after allegedly leaving his K-9 officer, Horus, inside a hot car overnight in June, leading to his death. Zeigler contacted the police chief when he found Horus dead, and an investigation revealed that Horus had been left in the vehicle and died of heat exposure. The incident occurred on a day when the temperature reached 90 degrees. Zeigler’s vehicle had a safety system that could have prevented the tragedy, but it was manually turned off. A farewell service was held for Horus, and a donor provided a headstone for him. A new law called Max’s Law aims to increase penalties for injuring and killing animals in law enforcement.