The Sad Mistake of Police Dog Handler Mark Johnson
The RSPCA are prosecuting Mark Johnson with unnecessarily confining Jet and Jay-Jay in an environment that was detrimental to their well-being.
PC Mark Johnson a dog handler for the Nottinghamshire police force is back in court today 14th October 2009 after his last court hearing was adjourned. He faces the charge for allowing his two polices dogs; Jet a 10 year old German Shepard who was due to retire from his routine work and be retrained to sniff out weapons for the firearms unit and Jay-Jay an 18 month old German Shepard who was being retrained to replace Jet.
The two dogs lived with Mark Johnson and his family but on the afternoon of the 30th June 2009 Mark made the fatal, stupid decision to leave them locked in his parked police vehicle outside the Nottinghamshire HQ. The temperature was said to be around 82.5f (28c) and animal welfare experts said the temperature inside the car would have reached 116f (47c) within 20 minutes.
Mark Johnson was only calling into the HQ for a few minutes but he got side tracked and the quick visit turned out to be the death penalty for the two dogs. When Mark Johnson got back to his car both dogs were already dead.
The RSPCA are prosecuting Mark Johnson with unnecessarily confining Jet and Jay-Jay in an environment that was detrimental to their well-being.
The police force and more importantly dog handling were Mark Johnson’s life. He was regarded as one of the country’s leading dog handlers and Jet was well known as one of the best service dogs Nottingham had.
What went wrong that day? I don’t think Mark Johnson killed the dogs deliberately. He will never be able to dog handle again, may never even be able to own a pet dog again. He must have been devastated and deeply ashamed. He disobeyed one of the simplest rules of dog ownership, cars get hot, dogs must never be left alone in locked cars.
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User Comments
cardy
On October 14, 2009 at 9:49 am
Wow what a sad story told well I think he loved them dogs and did not mean for it to happen, what a shame a good read and write from you.
Frances Lawrence
On October 14, 2009 at 10:34 am
I remember this case being on the news, it is a very sad case and it should be a warning to everyone.
Papa Sparks
On October 14, 2009 at 10:44 am
A sad story. You did a very good job putting together this piece.
LilRoastBeef
On October 14, 2009 at 10:44 am
Ironic, because I am sure he would preach the same thing, \”never leave your pets in a car\”….I am sure he is devestated and ashamed….very good write!!!
B Nelson
On October 14, 2009 at 11:49 am
Undoubtedly any punishment given to him will not be as harsh as the punishment he will serve to himself. It is a reminder to everyone that it is never a good idea to leave a pet in a car, even if its for a short time only, because we never know what will occur durring that short time. Poor doggies.
lillyrose
On October 14, 2009 at 12:26 pm
yes I think Mark will have suffered at his own hand
Christine Ramsay
On October 14, 2009 at 1:16 pm
This is such a sad story. It is so easy to get distracted in only a few minutes. He should not have taken the risk. A very good piece.
Christine
Frosty Johnson
On October 14, 2009 at 5:46 pm
To be honest i think he has probably really suffered over this, he obviously had a love for dogs to become a dog handler in the first place, a very unfortunate accident.
Peter Cimino
On October 14, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Well written piece on a sad and disturbing topic.
STEVE666
On October 14, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Yeah, I recall reading about this. A tragic case.
ken bultman
On October 14, 2009 at 7:01 pm
It’s happened here because the K-9 was not allowed in headquarters. The A/C alarm in the car failed and the dog died.
There is now a run for K-9s while officers are inside writing reports
but little help for that poor lady officer who lost her partner.
jay
On October 14, 2009 at 7:26 pm
How sad. I wonder how he is dealing with it? Could you do a follow up?
Lostash
On October 15, 2009 at 7:27 am
Clearly not deliberate in this case, and he will pay the personal price for years to come. Very sad.
Lee Ness
On October 15, 2009 at 8:42 am
Yes, I agree very very sad day for the owner and the dog. I remember hearing about this in the newspaper too.
I am so sorry you have chicken pox in your family right now. Not easy thing to cope with or for your child who has it.
Take it easy this weekend
Lee Ness
Valerie Curtiss
On October 15, 2009 at 1:09 pm
How sad, anyone can make a mistake, I once killed some finches by forgetting to give them water when my family was visiting, but even though life is life, the loss of two beloved dogs because of an innocent mistake is heartbreaking, and I am sure he lives with this every day of the rest of his life.
sihana
On October 20, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Leson -
When you leave dogs in a car on a hot day they become hot dogs.
Not-So-Stupid-To-Leave-Dogs-In-The-Stinkin-Heat
On November 11, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I hope he is reminded of this mistake every day of his life. Poor dogs… This is so sad
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