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San Diego officer charged in dog’s heat stroke death

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A veteran San Diego police officer was charged today with a misdemeanor in the heat stroke death of his police dog.

Paul Hubka, a 22-year veteran of the department, was charged under a state law making it a crime to leave a dog in a closed car on a hot day. Hubka’s police dog, Forrest, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, died after Hubka left it for hours in his police car outside his home in rural Alpine on a day when the temperature exceeded 100 degrees. A necropsy determined that the dog had died of heat stroke.

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Friends have said Hubka was emotionally devastated by the dog’s death. ‘I understand and share the strong emotional reaction to Forrest’s death,’ said San Diego County Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis. ‘However, it’s the only appropriate charge for these facts.’

Hubka would face a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a fine if convicted. He is to be arraigned in Superior Court on Aug. 28. After his dog’s death, Hubka was assigned to desk duty, at which he remains, according to the San Diego Police Department.

The department has launched an internal investigation into Forrest’s death to see if departmental punishment is warranted. With 45 dogs, the San Diego Police Department says it has the nation’s largest canine unit. The dogs are used for patrol and to detect drugs and weapons.

Dumanis, in a statement, noted that the law calls for a felony charge only in cases of intentional animal cruelty. If charged with a felony, a police officer is immediately suspended without pay.

‘This case should serve as a reminder that no one should ever leave an animal inside a closed car, not even for a few minutes,’ said Dawn Danielson, director of the San Diego County Department of Animal Services.

-- Tony Perry, in San Diego

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