Pictured above from left to right U/S AJ Cumming, S/O Cody Henderson C/O Andrew Hecksher and U/S John Cuzzupe along with Boomer in the middle.
SALEM — Earlier this afternoon, the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office announced that Salem County Sheriff’s Officer Cody L. Henderson, 41, was charged with recklessly causing the deaths of K-9s Rip and Boomer along with animal cruelty and several other charges. They are as follows:
Henderson was charged Tuesday with two third-degree counts of purposefully, knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to a living animal by failing to provide necessary care, resulting in death.
Henderson has been charged with two counts each of the following:
- Infliction of unnecessary cruelty upon a living animal by leaving the living animal unattended in a vehicle under inhumane conditions
- As a person charged with the care of a living animal, failure to provide the living animal with necessary care
- Unlawful cruel restraint of a dog in a manner that exposes the dog to adverse environmental conditions for more than 30 minutes
The dogs died on May 29, 2026, after Henderson left them unattended inside an overheating police vehicle all day. Henderson found them dead in the vehicle later in the afternoon. The prosecutor’s office said the following information which is crucial to the case:
- The car was not left running
- The windows remained closed
- No emergency alert system was activated
- The indoor kennels were not used which exist in the bottom portion of the courthouse according to other local emergency staff.
Henderson transported the dogs to a Delaware Animal Hospital but by that time it was far too late.
Following the tragic incident, the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office took up this case deciding not to transfer the investigation outside of the county.
Henderson was placed on paid leave once the investigation started. The investigation revealed the canines were left inside the K-9 SUV without proper environmental controls between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Rip was a nearly 3 year old Belgian Malinois that was born In Hungary, Rip traveled a long way to become a Sheriff’s Officer in Salem County. The dog started his K-9 academy training in September of 2023 by his handler, Sheriff’s Officer Cody Henderson.
Boomer was a springer spaniel and has served admirably just like Rip.
