K9 Zeus – Rhode Island State Police

Handler – Cpl. Charlie Bergeron 

Retired Rhode Island State Police K-9 Officer Zeus dies

K-9 Officer Zeus, who served for the Rhode Island State Police, has died. State police made an announcement on social media Tuesday morning. “We are saddened to share news of the recent passing of K-9 Zeus, a search and rescue/cadaver trained Lab/Keeshond mix who served as a member of our K-9 unit for more than 9 years,” state police noted. The post noted that K-9 Officer Zeus joined the department in 2011 and later retired in July 2020. In that time, state police said, the dog “participated in many notable search deployments and educated thousands of RI school children with canine demonstrations across the state.”State police also said K-9 Officer Zeus and his handler, Acting Cpl. Charlie Bergeron, were “dedicated” to finding missing people. “In one of his successful deployments, K-9 Zeus assisted the North Providence Police in 2018 searching for elderly man suffering from Parkinson’s Disease who had been missing for over 24 hours in cold, rainy conditions,” state police said. “K-9 Zeus led Acting Corporal Bergeron into a wooded thicket where the man was found lying face-down, hypothermic and dehydrated. He made a full recovery thanks to the work of K-9 Zeus.” State police went on to thank K-9 Officer Zeus for his service, sharing a photo of the dog with Bergeron. More than 75 people commented on the post in the first hour, with many offering condolences.

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Submitted By Jim Cortina

James A. Cortina has been involved with police dogs since 1972 and currently on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Jim has been appointed as Treasurer since its inception in 1991. Jim is one of the charter members of the C.P.W.D.A. organization. Since 1975 he has been a certified professional dog trainer and received his Master Trainer Certification in 1985. During his career he has provided armed K-9 strike crowd control for security agencies in Connecticut and out of state security companies. In conjunction with other members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Board of Directors, he helped to draft Connecticut Statute 53-247(e) "Intentional Injury or Killing of Police K-9" which was passed by the Senate in 1993 and also assisted in implementing the prestigious Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award in 1992. In 1993 he helped coordinate the North American Police Work Dog Association Nationals in New London, Connecticut. He was appointed Training Director for the New London County Work Dog Association from 1985-1987. He performed decoy work for Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. in police K-9 demonstrations, trained several local police department canines, and coordinated training workshops for out-of-state police departments. He participated in the United States Police K-9 Association Trials in Croton on Hudson, New York in 1985 as a decoy. He is an avid photographer and received photography awards in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and currently takes photographs for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc.
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