K9 Sara – Cherokee County, Texas

Died – 9/5/17
1st Handler – Detective Martin Pepin
2nd Handler – Detective Brent Dickson

Cherokee County K-9 Officer dies

Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Officer, Sara, passed away on September 5, 2017. K-9 Officer Sara was born in November 2007 in Poland. She made her way to the United States to Jackson, Mississippi. She was ultimately recruited by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in December 2008 as a young dog. Sara served Cherokee County faithfully in the capacity of a narcotic detection dog as well as performing community policing duties, such as allowing children and adults alike to pet and love her. Sara’s first partner with the Sheriff’s Office was Detective Martin Pepin and she ended her patrol services with Detective Brent Dickson. Sara retired in November 2016 due to recovering from ACL surgery. The surgery was necessary because of injuries sustained on the job. She spent her retirement enjoying life as a pet with Detective Dickson, his family and dachshund brother, Max, playing ball and chase. She was loved by, and a part of, the Pepin and Dickson families as well as the entire Sheriff’s Office family. “Sara was a good deputy who provided an outstanding service to the citizens of Cherokee County,” said Sheriff James Campbell. Sara has been laid to rest at the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

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.