K9 Rex – Columbus, Indiana

Died – 12/26/15
Handler – Officer Chad Lehman

Columbus police K9 dies following eight years of service

A retired K9 from the Columbus Police Department died Monday after eight years of service. Police said K9 Rex was born in 2006 and was joined with his partner, Officer Chad Lehman, in April 2008. From July of that year, the pair made nearly 250 apprehensions through February 2016, when they retired. “Rex always enjoyed work and would get excited whenever we would drive past other black and white police cars,” said Lehman. “He was known as the dog who tried to open car doors due to his being an aggressive alert dog. Rex would bite the door handle when he detected illegal narcotic odors. Rex’s favorite task was tracking and would always get excited whenever deployed for a track.” Rex enjoyed retirement with Lehman and his family until his passing.

Tags

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.
| Old Memorials | Site Map
Copyright © 1973 - 2024 Louise Krause Memorials to Fallen K-9's Hosted By PC-GEEK Site Maintained BY Jim Cortina