Last summer, Ken Ballinger, a K-9 officer with the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, was conducting a training session with working dogs on a hot and humid New England day.
For safety, Ballinger had arranged for two veterinarians and three paramedics to be on site. When the dogs were not working, they were resting in air-conditioned vehicles, and checked on every 15 minutes. On one of these routine checks, Ballinger’s dog, Blitz, a 3-year-old Shepherd, did not respond.
