10 dogs die from heat stroke during transport from O'Hare International Airport to Michigan City, Indiana
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One day after as many as 10 dogs died during a transport from O'Hare International Airport to Michigan City, Indiana, cries for an investigation into what went wrong are getting louder. The Lake Station Police Department responded to the call of distress Thursday, though they are calling this a "freak event."
Since this happened, CBS 2 has spoken with experts in this field who have unilaterally said this was not supposed to happen. They claim this was avoidable.
Police at this time do not think the person involved was negligent in any way, but they are referring to this as a mechanical air conditioning failure instead.
On Thursday, multiple German shepherds were taken from Chicago to a K9 training facility in Michigan City, Indiana, when the driver got stuck in a two-hour traffic delay.
During the delay, the air conditioning used to keep the dogs cool failed, and police say it wasn't until the driver heard the dogs barking that they realized something was wrong.
After the air conditioning failed, the temperatures in the cargo area holding the 19 dogs started to rise, and many of the dogs went into heat related medical distress.
At least 10 died.
Experts say the dogs barking should not have been the first sign that something was wrong. They say many who transport dogs of this kind use technology that tracks the temperature in the space where dogs are held, it it's not clear if this vehicle had that technology.
"I can't imagine someone doing this and not knowing that this wasn't the proper vehicle to transport dogs in," said Daniel McElroy, a dog trainer with Bark Avenue Playcare. "It looks like a meat truck."
CBS 2 reached out to police to see if they had an update on the status of the remaining dogs and to ask about the structure of the transport truck. They did not answer calls Saturday.
