K9 Cooper – Lake County, Florida

Died – 5/4/18
Handler – Master Dep. Judi Bowlin

Lake County Sheriff’s Office mourning loss of retired K-9 bomb sniffer

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the death of a retired K-9 dog. Cooper, who died May 4, worked alongside Master Dep. Judi Bowlin for 10 years in the school resource unit and on the Hazardous Devices Team, where he served in a bomb-detection role. Cooper was a well-decorated member of the sheriff’s office, having won first place in every division at the U.S. Police Canine Association competition. He and Bowlin also won numerous other awards together. The duo also provided assistance to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office for many years while working at the Daytona 500 in an effort to keep NASCAR fans safe during the annual event.

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.