14 Dogs Found Dead In Box Truck, Handler Found Golden Retrievers After Returning From Nap

14 dogs were found dead in the back of a box truck after their handler returned from a nap.

The incident occurred in Roseland, Indiana, after a scheduled appearance at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds where the American Kennel Club dog show was took place.

The handler, Cortney Corral, decided to take a nap after the last day of the show on Friday. She parked the box truck near her room at the Quality Inn to ensure she was nearby in case there were any issues with the dogs. The kennel area of the box truck was equipped with an air conditioning unit for the dogs and was powered via an outlet at the hotel.

Corral claims she fed, watered, and exercised the dogs just 2 hours prior to finding them dead in the truck. She states that the air conditioning was functioning properly at the time and she decided to take a nap. When she awoke two hours later, the air conditioning had stopped working and all 14 dogs were dead due to the extreme heat inside the box truck, according to WANE.

14 dogs die in Roseland when truck’s air conditioning fails – South Bend Tribune https://t.co/fCAHr2mqRF #SouthBend

— South Bend News (@NewsInSouthBend) July 24, 2016

St. Joseph County police officers were called to the scene after the dead dogs were discovered. Lt. William Redman was on the scene and decided it was a good idea to call in the Humane Society to assist with the investigation, according to the South Bend Tribune.

It was determined that the outlet within the hotel was functioning properly. However, a circuit breaker inside the box truck was tripped, leading to the failure of the air conditioning unit. The box truck is owned by Lakesyde Kennels and Handling, based in Wellington, Ohio.

The use of an extension cord to power the air conditioning unit was successful on Wednesday and Thursday without issue, so Corral felt it was okay to leave it in place for her remaining time in South Bend. She did not anticipate the power failure.

The tragedy occurred as a massive heat wave hovers over Norther Indiana, pushing the heat index well above 100 degrees.

Lt. Redman responded to the death of the dogs, claiming it was a freak incident with no nefarious intentions in mind.

“I felt it was just a tragic accident,”

What a heat related tragedy! 14 dogs, most golden retrievers, die inside a truck. https://t.co/v3SAW8NejU

— Just Love Goldens (@JustGoldens) July 24, 2016

Corral is the owner of 6 of the dogs, the remaining owners were notified on Friday.

Human Society executive director Genny Carlson accompanied Corral and the dogs back to the Humane Society where the investigation continued.

“She certainly didn’t intend for this to happen. Still, in cases like this, we work with a police detective and rely on them to decide whether it goes before the prosecutor or not.”

The mood at the dog show was somber on Friday night, as word of the tragedy spread quickly. Many box trucks with similar air conditioned cargo areas lined the the fair grounds.

Kim Booth, a photographer that attends many AKC events, claimed that the box trucks are a common appearance and shared that incidents of air condition failure are rare.

Carlson spoke out to ensure that she was clear that even with an air conditioning unit installed, there are risks.

“I hope we can get across to everybody that, especially in heat like this, we have to take special precautions. Children and the elderly are at risk, and so are animals. Even if an animal lives outside all of the time, no one is used to this kind of heat. You should never leave a child or an animal in the car in weather like this.”

[Photo Via:Karen Roach/Shutterstock]