K9 Peper – Gwinnett, Georgia

Died – 2/25/24

Gwinnett K9 Dies After Mass Near Heart Prompts Complications

A K9 officer on Gwinnett County Police’s SWAT team has died after an “unexpected illness,” police said Friday. She was 6.Peper died Sunday after recently developing a mass near her heart, which prompted severe medical complications, police said.”Throughout her service, K9 Peper dutifully served the people of Gwinnett County, and her contributions will not be forgotten,” police said in a news release.Peper was born on June 30, 2017 in Slovakia and trained at Tarheel Canine before joining Gwinnett Police on Oct. 3, 2018, under Cpl. Caleb Jefferson’s leadership, police said.After the September 2020 death of K9 Blue, Peper joined the department’s SWAT team and began partnering with multiple federal agencies alongside Jefferson.During her time with Gwinnett Police, Peper responded to 206 service calls, participated in 41 patrol apprehensions and successfully located 32 evidence items, police said.”She was an invaluable asset to our department and will be greatly missed by all,” police said in the release.

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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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