Multiple dogs died of extreme heat in a truck's cargo hold en route to K-9 training

• Multiple dogs died on their way to a K-9 training facility after their vehicle lost AC.
• Indiana police did not disclose how many dogs died, though approximately 19 German Shepherds were in transport.

An unknown number of dogs died en route to a K-9 training facility after the AC in their vehicle failed.

Approximately 19 German Shepherds were involved in the lethal situation on July 27, though it remains unclear how many died, CBS News reported. The K-9s were en route from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to a training facility in Michigan City, Indiana.

"This is truly devastating," Jenny Webber, executive director of the Humane Society of Hobart, Indiana, told CBS News, adding that the animals suffered from heat strokes.

During transport, the vehicle was stuck in two-hour traffic, and at some point, the AC unit died, CBS reported. The temperature climbed in the cargo area housing the 19 dogs in crates.

"Since the cargo area was separated, the driver wasn't aware at the time that the AC unit failed which caused some of the canines to go into heat-related medical distress. The driver's attention as to what was going on inside the cargo area was alerted to him by some of the canines barking," the Lake Station Police Department said in a statement on Facebook.

Police Chief James Richardson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for additional comment.

The driver pulled over and began removing the crated dogs from the vehicle. The Lake Station Fire Department, EMS, and police responded to the scene, according to the statement.

"The scene was chaotic and took an emotional toll on all that were involved in trying to save as many canines as possible," the police statement read. "Any loss of life is tragic and thoughts and prayers are with all those that were affect[ed] by this 'freak event.'"

The police department said in its statement that it believes the situation was not animal cruelty or neglect but a "mechanical failure of the AC unit."

Webber, the executive director of the Humane Society of Hobart, responded to the scene and had a different take, suggesting proper protocol wasn't followed.

"I don't think any veterinarian would've signed off on their health certificate given the temperature and the exposure that those pets would've been under," Webber told CBS. "I'm not even quite sure if they had any of that paperwork or any of the documentation they should've had."

Webber told Insider seven dogs were taken to the Hobart Animal Clinic, four of which were euthanized, and the transport vehicle's driver left with four live dogs and an unknown number of dead dogs.

"He left with the deceased animals, and four alive animals that I recommended be hospitalized immediately," Webber told CBS. "It's very confusing, very disheartening, and I would like a call from the chief of police immediately."

In a statement Webber shared with Insider, she alleged that the police department, which the humane society has a contract with, refused to let the humane society seize the dogs and conduct an investigation after the dogs' owner refused.

"I stated that it appeared he was not in compliance with several of our codes and that we should seize all pets, transport medical patients to emergency care, do an investigation and return the animals once compliance was proved," Webber said in a statement. "This made the owner very mad. He was derogatory and belligerent and subsequently stated he didn't want anyone from the Humane Society to touch his dogs."

Webber said that the police obliged the dogs' owner and "complied with his request as multiple vehicles were standing by with air conditioning ready to transport sat idle and more lives were lost." Insider has reached out to the dogs' owner to request comment.

She added in the statement that the officers let the owner leave the scene with four dogs in need of medical attention and several dead dogs, leaving the scene "in the same broken truck with the doors off, without properly securing the animals according to our code on the expressway. All against our municipal code."

"We have worked alongside Lake Station for many years and cannot explain why protocol was not followed," Webber said in the statement.