K9 Judah – Gaithersburg, Maryland

Handler – Corporal Jeff Bennett

Retired Gaithersburg Police K9 Dies

The Gaithersburg Police Department is mourning the recent loss of one of their own.”K9 Judah was a valued member of the department and will be missed,” the department posted to Facebook.The department’s dedicated police dog bravely served the Gaithersburg community for six years. He was the faithful partner of Officer Bennett, according to the GPD. After retiring, K9 Judah was adopted by a loving family from Virginia in 2020 who welcomed him into their home where he enjoyed family vacations and the family life. At the time of his passing, police said K9 Judah was 13 years old. His adopted family posted recently to Facebook that he died of cancer.

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.