K9 Yo Yo – Dorchester, South Carolina

DCSO mourns passing of retired K-9 ‘YoYo’

The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the loss of one of its former deputy K-9s, York, or as he was affectionately known, YoYo. YoYo “crossed over to be with his friends” on April 12, the sheriff’s office announced on Friday. YoYo joined DCSO in 2011 and retired in late 2020. Since his retirement, he had been living “the good life” with his original partner, Jacob Will, and his family. Will and YoYo served together from 2011 until 2017. YoYo joined the sheriff’s office around the same time several other K-9s came in: Feist, Roney, Eicho and Yoshi. “Together again – watch out Heaven. YoYo, we’ve got the watch from here. Run free our friend,” DCSO posted on Facebook Friday to commemorate their former K-9 partners.

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.