DUTY OF CARE: Sky postmortem reveals grim final hours of SAPS arson detection dog

The police dog Sky was euthanised on Wednesday, 9 September, after suffering catastrophic injuries while confined at the SAPS Veterinary Hospital in Roodeplaat, Pretoria.

For five years, she served the South African Police Service, but in her final days, she was allegedly confined to a small, windowless kennel for up to 18 hours a day.

The postmortem report comes as fresh questions are being raised about whether other SAPS service animals could face similar risks.

Ian Cameron, chairperson of the parliamentary police committee, first raised the alarm in September over the conditions in which Sky was being kept, conditions that ultimately led to the dog being euthanised.

Cameron opened a criminal case at Paarl police station, before the docket was transferred to Kameeldrift SAPS in Pretoria.

He was again at the forefront of the investigation when he released Sky’s final postmortem report, providing new detail about the injuries suffered by the SAPS service dog and the circumstances surrounding her final hours.

On Thursday, 1 October, Cameron told Daily Maverick that SAPS had assured him that there was now no risk of other animals being exposed to circumstances that could result in a fate similar to Sky’s.

“SAPS made it very clear to me that this will not happen, and naturally, I must allow them space to conduct their investigation. However, I know there was immediate intervention to ensure that, specifically Belgian Shepherd dogs, the breed Sky belonged to, are not exposed in the same way,” he said.

Unravelling Sky’s final hours

Cameron said the final postmortem report records that Sky was found alive but unresponsive and in shock inside a blood-filled cage.

The postmortem confirmed several fractures to both front legs. Bone had protruded through the skin of her left front leg, constituting an open fracture. The fracture-related wounds were estimated to have been about 12 to 16 hours old.

Sky also suffered extensive wounds, bruising and damage to her skin, muscles and surrounding tissue. The report identified severe muscle breakdown that had caused changes to her kidneys and acute changes to her heart muscle.

Her injuries were considered likely to have been imminently fatal had she not been euthanised. 

Multiple penetrating wounds were documented. The report states that one crescent-shaped injury could plausibly have been self-inflicted, consistent with the possibility that Sky bit at her own limb while attempting to free herself. However, the report does not establish this as fact.

Other injuries were associated with fractured bone and blunt-force trauma.

Cameron also said the findings showed that Sky had suffered catastrophic injuries and extreme pain during what appeared to have been a prolonged and physically traumatic struggle.

“The report does not determine responsibility. That must be established through the investigations now under way,” he said

Sky’s death ‘must not be in vain’

Sky’s death has prompted an internal SAPS investigation, an independent probe by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) and the intervention of the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) under the Animals Protection Act.

The SAPS investigation is expected to be completed by Friday, 9 October.

Cameron said he had recently met senior SAPS managers and that a general had been appointed to lead the internal investigation. SAPS has until 9 October to complete its report.

“I must say, to the police’s credit for a change, that they are taking this seriously; the fact that the SAPS appointed a general to lead an investigation like this is something you don’t even see with human resources issues,” he said.

Cameron underlined that the SAPS had assured him that it would ensure there was no interference in the case.

“We will not allow the difficult questions to disappear. Sky served the South African Police Service and the public. She deserved protection, proper care and dignity. Her death must not be in vain,” he said. DM