Arkansas authorities say a sheriff deputy’s house burned down while he was in Florida on Sunday. It is the same residence where a police dog died in July.
The deputy's mother, who owns the home, was in Hot Springs when it happened, Hot Spring County Sheriff Mike Cash said.
A neighbor who was driving down Houpt Road in Malvern on Sunday afternoon saw the house burning, said Cash, who got the call around 6 p.m.
When Glen Rose firefighters finished putting out the fire, some parts were still standing, but the home was no longer inhabitable, according to the sheriff.
In July, a police dog named Luky reportedly died at the same residence. Cash told the Malvern Daily Record that the dog had suffered a ruptured diaphragm and that a necropsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma, The Associated Press reported.
The dog had been tied up in his handler's yard at the time of his death. Cash said the dog's handler is not under investigation because he was with other people at the time the injuries are thought to have occurred.
Luky had been a police dog with the sheriff's office since 2015.
Cash said it is unclear whether the the fire is related to the animal's death. Authorities said they will know more when the fire department determines the cause of the blaze.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.