K9 Cooper – Humberside, England

Handler – PC Ramage

Sadness as Humberside Police dog Cooper ‘crosses the rainbow bridge’

Humberside Police has paid tribute to retired police dog Cooper, who has sadly passed away. Cooper joined the force at only 10 months old, when he was a stray. He spent eight years as a detection dog before he retired in 2019.He was particularly close with his handler PC Ramage and his family and will be ‘forever missed’. Members of the public flooded social media with their thanks to Cooper for his service.Others passed on well wishes to PC Ramage in this difficult time. A spokesperson for Humberside Police said: “We are saddened to announce that Retired Police Dog Cooper, has crossed the rainbow bridge.”After joining the force as a 10-month-old stray, he spent eight years as a DCW Detection Dog before retiring in 2019. Our thoughts are with his handler PC Ramage and his family. He will forever be missed.”

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.