A former Savannah, Missouri sheriff pleaded not guilty to animal abuse in the death of his K-9 partner, a German shepherd named Horus, this summer.
Horus died of heat exposure on June 20 after Zeigler allegedly left him alone in a hot car for more than 13 hours, according to affidavits filed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Zeigler contacted Savannah police Chief Dave Vincent at 5:54 p.m. on June 20 to say that Horus was dead, according to court documents. The pair had completed their last overnight shift at 4:49 a.m.
The temperature on June 20 peaked at 88 degrees around 4 p.m., according to court records. A functionality test completed on June 26 found that the vehicle’s AceK9 system — which would activate the horn and fan and roll down the car windows as a response to heat — was in working order on June 20, but had been manually disabled.
The city of Savannah announced Sept. 10 that the Savannah Board of Alderman had voted to terminate Zeigler’s employment on Sept. 9.
Horus joined the Savannah Police Department in 2021, when he was almost 2 years old, according to police.
Zeigler will next appear in court on November 5 at 10 a.m. for a trial setting hearing.
Previous reporting by The Star’s Noelle Alviz-Gransee and Kendrick Calfee contributed to this article.
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