K9 Leo – Kodagu, India

Died 12/21/23

‘Leo,’ The Crime Detection Dog Of Kodagu District Police Passes Away

Leo, the crime detection dog, which had served for 10 years and 9 months at the Kodagu District Dog Squad, has passed away following illness on Dec. 21.Leo was inducted into the Dog Squad on Feb. 26, 2013 and had retired from service on Nov. 17, 2023.Leo, the German Shepherd, had taken part in 380 crime detection cases, traced four bodies during the landslides in 2018-19, traced 46 persons who had committed crimes, provided clues in 22 criminal cases, had bagged prizes for three times at the State-level Police Sports and four prizes in the Zonal-level and had detected narcotic substances during checking at check-posts. The last rites were held yesterday in the premises of the District Armed Reserve (DAR) Police in Madikeri with full Police honor.Kodagu SP K. Ramarajan, Additional SP Sundarraj, other Police officials and staff paid their last respects to Leo.

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.