Authorities in Georgia say a police K-9 has died after being left in a patrol car for several hours.

Local news media report that Cherokee County officials were called to the home of school police Lt. Daniel Peabody on Friday.

Chief Ron Hunton says Peabody arrived home about 4:15 p.m. and left the Belgian Malinois named Inka in the back of the car with the engine turned off to deal with another dog inside his home. The officer apparently forgot about the dog until 7 p.m. He went back to the car and found the dog had died.

Temperatures had reached into the 90s on that day. Hunton said it was hotter inside the car.

A Marshal's Office spokesman says criminal charges are possible. An investigation is underway.