K9 Noa – Orange County, California

Died – 4/22/19
1st Handler – Deputy Anderson
2nd Handler – Deputy Hodges
3rd Handler – Deputy Raphael

Retired K9 Noa Passes, Remembered By OCSD

The Orange County Sheriff Department’s K9 Unit is saddened to announce the passing of retired Police Service Dog, Noa. The 15-year-old Belgian Malinois passed away Monday, April 22, after a long and successful career with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. PSD Noa received her initial training in Europe before joining the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to be a member of the Custody Detection Team. Noa and her first partner, Deputy Anderson, were assigned to the James A. Musick Facility where they conducted more than 1,200 searches for narcotics and completed over 400 hours of training. When Deputy Anderson transferred to patrol operations in August of 2009, Noa was provided a new partner, Deputy Hodges. Deputy Hodges and Noa remained at the Musick facility, where the duo made more than 20 observed felony arrests for narcotic possession at the jail, and were often called upon to help search the other jail facilities for narcotics. Noa also assisted patrol deputies on vehicle stops and probation searches in operations. Deputy Hodges transferred to patrol in 2013 and Noa was assigned to a third partner, Deputy Raphael. Deputy Raphael certified with Noa and was in service at the Musick Facility and also assisted patrol in more than 325 deployments. Noa retired in 2014 and was adopted by Deputy Zwirner, who was assigned to Musick and was looking to bring Noa to a loving home. PSD Noa will be missed and remembered by her partners, Deputy Zwirner and the men and women of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

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.