<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/K9HeatDeath01.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/K9HeatDeath01.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/K9HeatDeath01.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > A photo of Ozzy, the K-9 found dead, most likely of heat exhaustion, after being left in his handler's car. (Long Beach Police Department via Twitter)

At a Glance The dog was found dead in his handler's car earlier this month.

The death is being considered an accident.

A heat alarm in the officer's vehicle may have malfunctioned. A K-9 police dog named Ozzy is dead, most likely from heat exhaustion after being left in his handler's car earlier this month, according to the police department in Long Beach, California.

The department announced Ozzy's death Friday on Twitter. A follow-up statement said the death was believed to have been accidental , and that a temperature alarm in the officer's department-issued police vehicle may have malfunctioned.

"This unfortunate incident was not intentional," the statement said. "Preliminarily we believe this was an accident and we are taking all the necessary steps to avoid this from happening in the future ... Our K-9 vehicles are outfitted with fail/safe equipment that is meant to generate an alert. At this time, we believe this alert may not have been working."

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The statement said Ozzy was found dead in the vehicle at 3:40 p.m. local time on Aug. 14. He and his handler were off duty, and the statement did not say if the vehicle was parked in Long Beach or somewhere else. The high in Long Beach reached 89 degrees early that afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Even in mild 70-degree temperatures, a car can quickly become too hot for children or pets to survive , according to the NWS. A car's interior temperature can rise by as much as 20 degrees in 10 minutes, and continue going up.

It's against the law in California to leave an animal in a car when certain circumstances, including temperature, may endanger its health.

Long Beach police public information officer Arantxa Chavarria told the Los Angeles Times that the heat monitoring equipment in K-9 vehicles uses a cell phone app to alert the handler when the vehicle is getting too warm. Chavarria did not say whether or not it was standard practice for a K-9 to be left alone in this type of vehicle.

"Currently, all of our patrol K-9 handlers are checking their Heat System Controller prior to every shift and will continue to do so as part of their daily protocols," the department statement said.

"We ask that you respect the handler and his family. Our department is mourning Ozzy's loss as we would with any of our employees."